One More to the Flock
by G4B13
Summary: Amanda and Iggy are on their honeymoon in France. The whole flock is with them. What happens when an unexpected person comes to warn them about Anne? Will she find them? Sequal to Iggy and the Other One of Us.
1. Chapter 1

For those of you coming into this series, I have just finished a fan fic called "Iggy and the Other One Of Us" for Maximum Ride. It took place after the 3rd book. This would be the sequel to that story. I hope you like this story. REVIEW!!!

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Prologue

**Max's POV**

We were all here in France for Iggy and Amanda's honeymoon. We don't exactly hang around them that much; we respected their space.

"Max, when's dinner? I'm hungry," said Angel. We were all walking back from the pool. We all wore T-shirts, don't worry.

"Sweetie, we're meeting up with Amanda and Iggy in about 2 hours. Do you want me to get you another pair of hot dogs?" I asked just to make sure.

"Of course."

We all walked back to the hotel, ran straight to the hot dog stand, and got everybody two hot dogs. We eat so healthily.

"I'm tired. I gotta get changed for dinner," Nudge said, sliding her key card into the door of one fo the hotel rooms.

"I wanna shower!!" Angel said, chasing after Nudge.

"Meet with Fang in the room, 'kay, Gazzy?"

"Kay, Max." Gazzy entered his room.

We had gotten three hotel rooms, and Iggy and Amanda had a separate one. Once I dropped the kids off at their room, ordered their Pay per View movie, I headed down to my room.

"Max!" Fang said, poking me on the sides as he came up from behind. I was so tired, I actually jumped in the air, making him laugh. I play slapped him, but he quickly turned me around to kiss me on the lips.

"Yes, Fang?" I said, as he pulled away.

"We're getting married tomorrow."

"Oh really? I had no idea," I said, smiling brightly.

Did I forget to remind you? Iggy and Amanda got married, but at their reception FANG PROPOSED!! We're getting married tomorrow, and I was excited as hell.

"I love you, you know that right?" Fang said, staring deeply into my eyes. Why does he have to be so dazzling?

"Yes I do. Do you know that I love you too?"

"I know that you love me too." Fang took my hand, and walked me to my room. _Our _room.

"Get changed. Dinner's in a few minutes,"

"Try two hours, Fang."

"Well, I want to be ready."

I smiled as I closed the door, ran to get the shower ready, and turned to the fridge that was stocked with Coca Cola.

As I took the can out, I found a note. It read:

_Be prepared, Maximum._

I had a slight idea where this note came from, but I couldn't believe that they had found us. Anne was last seen a couple months ago in Itex Germany. How did she know we were here?

"Hello, Max."

There stood Jeb.

Oh Dear God.

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I have to go to class now. Latin is not fun; I don't recommend it over the summer. I'll think about how this'll go in about a couple hours. REVIEW!!! If you guys want twists, give me ideas, if not I'll think of some really good ones. Alrighty, REVIEW PLEASE!! 


	2. Chapter 2

Well, I found out I'm getting an 84, in Latin and even though that's a B (me being an insane overachiever), I won't fight it. Celebrate!!

Anyways, here's the next chappie. I know that there is a lot of Faxness and IgAmandaness in this, but I just love the fact that they can be happy for a bit while the world comes after them. Sorry it can be a little short.

REVIEW!!

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**Iggy's POV**

"Amanda?"

"Ye-es?" She answered in my favorite sing song voice.

"We have to go to dinner," I said, tapping on the door before opening it, entering the bathroom.

"But…" she said, turning around to realize that I had come in. She smiled at me, and I walked over to her. My wife looked amazing, and get this: she was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. How cool is that?!

"Are you going to wear that to dinner? We have to go like, now," I said, not taking the smile off of my face. I leaned against the doorframe, watching her put on some earrings. As if she could look anymore stunning.

"I thought that we had until 7:00. When are the reservations for?" Amanda looked at me confused. She walked over to me, straddled my hips with her hands, and kissed me on the lips.

"They are for 7:00, and it's 6:30. We're meeting your friends and the flock there in…" I stopped. My hearing, since I had been blind, was very keen and sharp. I could hear things from very far away. I heard a small scream coming from the room a couple of doors down: Max.

"We have to go, now."

"No we don't…"

I didn't even let her finish. I just grabbed her arm, and pulled her to the room. Once I arrived, I knocked furiously on the door, trying to get it open.

"Max! It's Iggy and Amanda!! Let me in!!"

**Max's POV **

I heard the knocks coming from the door, and I was grateful. Iggy had heard me. I would need him to fight off any possible Erasers hanging around my room. I eyed Jeb carefully, but oddly enough he was smiling at me.

"You can get that if you want. I am not here to hurt you," Jeb said, moving aside to let me by.

"And let me guess: all the other times that Erasers nearly killed me, you weren't trying to hurt me? Bastard. How did you get in here?"

"Don't tone with me, Maximum. And by the by, I have my ways of getting into places."

"Whatever." I rushed to get the door. Iggy practically tripped getting inside, and Amanda ran to go and get the others out of their rooms. They were there in one second. They took one look at me, then at Jeb, back to me. They got into position automatically.

"What the hell do you want?" Fang said to Jeb, coming to my side.

"Well, I hear that you and my daughter are getting married. I was slightly hurt that you didn't come to me for my blessing, so I thought that I would stop by and…"

"We don't need a blessing from the devil," I said, my voice as icy as Antarctica.

"Who are you?" I didn't realize that Amanda had no idea who Jeb was.

"He's Max's dad," Angel said.

"But he's not exactly the fatherly type," Nudge continued.

Jeb didn't even flinch at either of these comments. I was stunned; he should've shown some sort of emotion. There was one thing that caught me eye: he was staring at Amanda, and he had this emotion on his face that I can't quite explain…

"I feel like I know you…" Amanda said, thoughtfully.

"I worked at the School for quite some time," Jeb said.

"Did you do this to us?" Amanda asked.

"I supervised it," Jeb said, proudly.

Amanda was held back by Iggy as she was about to lunge at Jeb. She was practically shaking, and it frightened me. She didn't even have to scream. I was scared enough.

Iggy looked straight at Jeb when he said, "Don't worry, sweetie. We'll get him later."

"Iggy how can look into my eyes?" Jeb was stunned (finally, emotion!) at the fact that Iggy was looking at him.

"Amanda healed me, and now I can see. We're married," Iggy said, holding Amanda to his side. She snuggled into his chest, but didn't take her eyes off of my father.

Jeb was silent for a minute. He looked at Amanda's hand, which was around Iggy's hips, and glanced at the diamond ring. He was in a trance for a while before saying, "I see. And you were an experiment at the school, correct?"

"How else would I be able to fly, heal people, and kill people like you in two seconds?" Amanda's tone matched my icy one.

Jeb just took that as a yes, and continued, "And yet you have no idea who I am?"

"No clue."

Jeb walked up to her, looking at her straight in the eyes. She backed away slightly.

"Dear girl, I am your dad. Ari was your brother. Max is your sister."

**Amanda's POV**

I couldn't believe my ears, eyes, everything. I was in shock.

Jeb, the guy that supervised the pain, the killing of my brother, the loss of eyesight of my husband, the trauma, was my father?

Max, my new sister, who had hated me at one time, had been my sister the whole time?

Ari, the one Eraser that was the most persistent in abolishing our existence, was my brother?

"Liar." I spat the words out.

"It's true."

"It can't be…" Max said, looking at me with stupefied eyes.

"It can. Dr. Martinez made you, Maximum, but what she didn't know was that I had already made Amanda, but when she failed, I tried one more time, praying that you swould turn out perfect. I was shocked to hear that Amanda had survived.."

"How do you hear these things? How did you know that I had married Iggy? How did you hear that Max and Fang were getting married? WHO'S BEEN WATCHING US?" Amanda was shouting at this point.

Jeb turned around, facing the kitchen area of the hotel room, and out stepped a person that I, never in a million years, would never have guessed was alive, let alone in Paris, stepped out of the kitchen, biting into an apple.

Ari.

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Sorry about the short chapter! I think that this would be enough to calm your nerves, but I have a presentation, a quiz, and an essay for Monday. I may not have enough time to update in the next two days, but I promise you I'll try! 

REVIEW!!! Any ideas? I'll be glad to get em.

REVIEW… pretty please? does puppy dog eyes Thanks!!!

About Amanda's mother... we'll get there when we get there. don't worry.


	3. Chapter 3

So, a quick recap:

Jeb found the flock.

Max and Amanda are sisters.

Ari is alive.

Nothing huge.

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**Max's POV **

I couldn't believe my eyes. I literally felt my jaw drop.

Ari was alive? How? I saw him, he was dead. I _saw _him.

And yet, there he was.

"How?" Fang said.

"How what?" Ari said, taking another bite into the apple.

"How are you alive?" I asked, emphasizing the last word.

"I was never dead," Ari explained. He had finished the apple, and tossed the core into the trash can. The tin made a crash sound.

"Ari was merely unconscious. I looked at you the way I did because I feared that he would never wake up," Jeb continued.

"Wait, Ari's my…"

"Ari's your half brother, Amanda," Max said.

"Wonderful. Hello," Amanda said, extending her hand to Ari. He stared at it, confused obviously, then he hesitantly took it and shook her hand. He smiled, as did she.

"What are you going to do to us?" Angel said, actually sounding like a 6 year old for once.

"We just want Amanda and Max to come back to the School…" Ari began.

"No effing way."

"Max, we really need you to consider this."

"Why? Why do I have to come with you guys? I don't ever want to go back. Get it through that thick head of yours. I _hate _you. Got it?" I was beyond mad at this point. Fang was holding me back, I was soo ready to kick their butts.

"I have some news about Anne."

That was all I needed to hear. I stopped trying to claw at Jeb and Ari, and unclenched my fists. I stared at Jeb, blankly, but interested.

"What kind of news do you have?"

Jeb smiled, looking me. "She has been murdered."

I stood there, dumfounded. I tried to speak, but couldn't let my mouth form the words.

Anne, my ex-mother, was dead? Gone? I couldn't believe it, and there was a long list of things I didn't believe at this point. I almost fainted in shock.

"Who killed her?" Iggy asked, finally figuring out that I wouldn't ask. Or more that I couldn't ask.

Ari spoke up, "I did."

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Well, there you have it. I am soooo sorry for you guys. I didn't see the point in continuing this chapter. Starting another right chapter . REVIEW!! 


	4. Chapter 4

Better twist: Air has killed Anne. How you ask? Read to find out. Sorri i took so long! Latin isn't fun!

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**Max's POV**

Anne has been murdered by one of her own. My half brother.

Can this get anymore complicated?

Everybody was just about as awestruck as I was, and I decided that since nobody wanted to take the initiative to speak up, I would, since I _am _the leader.

"Why…How…" I didn't say comprehensively, people.

"I decided that I would start to think for myself, and I remembered how you guys helped me in Germany, and I said, 'Hey, maybe it _is _wrong, what they do to people and what they make us for'. I organized a gang, and together we fought her off, killing her in the process," Ari's eyes were bright with pride, and I couldn't help but be slightly proud that he was my half brother.

"And what did you do, _Jeb_?" Nudge said, clearly convinced that Jeb, the devil, couldn't possibly be responsible for a good deed.

"I followed my son, all the way. He, in fact, was the one that wanted to come here," Jeb said, and he put his arm around his son's shoulders, making Ari smile bigger.

So, Ari and Jeb were buddies now. Great!

"And your job?" Iggy asked.

"Don't have it anymore. Who would be my boss?" Jeb said, chuckling.

"And the School?" Amanda asked in a hopeful tone.

"The Itex headquarters are destroyed, and I don't know of anybody who would want to be the leader of this mondo corporation, so I think that we won't be seeing much of it anymore."

There were cheers at this point. Nudge and Gazzy and Angel were spinning around in a circle, cheering. It was adorable. Amanda was hugging Iggy, saying something about starting a family without worries.

That was when I remembered our wedding. "Jeb, Ari, would you like to come to my wedding tomorrow?" I decided that they would be worth inviting, and at least somebody could give me away to Fang.

Oh, Fang. I forgot to ask him. He didn't look like he was hurt or mad… but then again since when did Fang show emotion for the world to see?

"Sure," Ari said. Jeb smiled, letting me know the answer without words.

"Cool. Well, you guys, we had dinner ready, our rehearsal dinner, set about half an hour ago. We should head down there," Fang said, taking my hand, and heading for the door.

**Fang's POV **

Why did she have to invite _them? _As far as I know, Ari was still a backstabbing murder, and I couldn't say much better things about Jeb. I decided that if they screwed up our wedding, I had direct authority to kill them both.

Max looked slightly scared, and I put my arm around her waist, kissing her head lightly as it came on my shoulder. She was too pretty to be mad at for too long.

"Sorry," she said.

"Sorry for what?"

"For inviting the evil duo to our wedding. I just figured that maybe they really did turn a new leaf."

"Don't worry, but if something goes wrong… I'll kill them both," I said, seriously, but I burst into laughter. Max, relieved, joined in.

We arrived at dinner, and we looked alright, I guess. We all were wearing nice jeans with a nice shirt or top. Max was the only one that looked knock-out gorgeous in my eyes. She wore the same halter dress from Amanda's wedding, since she knew it was my favorite. I walked down to front table, and introduced Ari and Jeb. Ari was her older brother, since he was too tall to be 10 or 11, and Jeb was her father. Everybody didn't have any questions, much to my relief, and then we all began to eat.

We eat, individually, as much as three grown men. So when we meant buffet, it took up two whole walls, and replacement foods were constantly being prepared. It was really funny, the looks that we got from people as we went for thirds and fourths.

Then, Max got up, tapping her wine glass as she got up.

Silenced immediately, the whole of our audience looked at her. Max smiled, "Hi everybody." Before she began, she looked at me. I smiled up at her, gripped her hand, and stood up with her.

"Before I begin, I would just like to say my toast for Amanda and Iggy. I unfortunately didn't have much time to write something for them. I just want them to know that I hope you guys do well in life. I don't wanna get too sappy, cause I'll start to cry…" she took a break to swallow the lump in her throat, which was now visible, "but I just want you to know that I love you guys both very much. Ladies and gentleman, to Iggy and Amanda," she said, raising her glass.

"TO IGGY AND AMANDA!" everybody cried, copying Max's actions. Amanda mouthed Thank you. We smiled at her.

"And now, back to moi," Amanda said, making everybody laugh. "I'm really glad you're all here, especially my dad and brother. I missed them very much," and I think that she meant this when she said it. "I really love Fang, and when he asked me, I couldn't think of anything else other than spending my life with him, starting a family. I love him very much." Max was crying at this point, and I got up and stood next to her. "I'll take it from here."

**Max's POV **

I was pouring tears, and Fang thankfully took the stage.

"I would also like to thank everybody for being here. I hope that you had fun at Iggy and Amanda's wedding, and that you will enjoy yourselves tomorrow. You know, Max and I have been together for a long time. It didn't take me very long, however, to figure out that I loved her. And I want to say something, just to show you how much I love Max." **(A/N this may get a little sappy. Sorry! I just love romance! My curse)**

Always And Forever 

My heart weeps when you're not here,  
and sings sweet songs when you're near.

My life is trusted completely with you,  
for I know you protect me from all harm.

I treasure the precious moments we share,  
they will be with me for eternity.

Thank you baby for all you do,  
I will always and forever be loving you.

(© Jaimee Paskin)

I looked at Fang, love in my tears. I hugged him, and he hugged me back, lifting me off the ground. I loved him so much.

Thunderous applause from the people, whom I forgot were there, erupted. Whistles came from Iggy and Amanda. Angel was sending me giggles through her mind, and Nudge just couldn't stop smiling. Gazzy's mouth was too full for him to do anything.

The night was perfect. And the next day, the main event: My wedding.

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I think that I don't want the school to come back. I want to concentrate more on the issues with the flock. But, if u guys want them, tell me. REVIEW!!! 


	5. Chapter 5

Here's the wedding. I'll look for the wedding dress online. Go on my profile, and look it up. Fang's tux will be there 2! REVIEW!

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**Fang's POV**

Today was the day. I stood, in my black tux, on the bank of the River. It was a quaint little area next to the place where Amanda and Iggy had gotten married, where the sun showed just right through the shade of the trees. The perfect place to get married, don't you think?

I had been staring at water go quickly over the banks when the organ began to play. I turned around, and I saw my beautiful bride.

Max had bought something that did her body justice to the fullest. She wore a simple white gown with lace falling gracefully over her face. Jeb walked her down the isle, smiling brightly. Ari escorted Nudge, and it took all my power to not go over and punch him in the face. I still didn't trust him. Gazzy escorted Angel, Iggy escorted Amanda, and Ella had brought her boyfriend.

The maid of honor was Ella, by the way. Max had a difficult time with the choice, but Amanda made it perfectly clear that it was okay for Max to choose Ella. Ella was practically begging Max, anyway.

My best man was, of course, Iggy. He was my brother, and he was the one guy I could relate to. He understood everything, and he was probably one of the most honest men I knew.

Once everybody, along with my blushing bride, made it to the stage, we began our ceremony.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to bind this man and this woman in holy matrimony. If anybody has a reason why these two should not wed, speak now, or forever hold their peace."

No objections. Whew.

"We will begin with the vows. Okay, Fang, repeat after me: I, Fang."

"I, Fang."

"Affirm my love to you, Max"

"Affirm my love to you, Max"

"As I invite you to share my life."

"As I invite you to share my life."

"I promise always to respect your needs."

"I promise always to respect your needs"

"I will endeavor through kindness, unselfishness, and trust."

"I will endeavor through kindness, unselfishness, and trust."

"To achieve the warm rich life we now look forward to."

"To achieve the warm rich life we now look forward to."

"To this end I call upon all present to witness."

"To this end I call upon all present to witness."

"That I take you, Maximum Ride."

"That I take you, Maximum Ride," and my voice was cracking by this part. I was so happy.

"To be my lawful wife."

"To be my lawful wife."

"To have and to hold, from this day forward."

"To have and to hold, from this day forward."

"For better or for worse"

"For better or for worse."

"For richer or for poorer."

"For richer or for poorer."

"In sickness and in health while we both shall live."

"In sickness and in health while we both shall live."

I noticed that Max was choking back tears. I finished my vow. She, too, repeated the priest's words, and by the time we had finished, we were both smiling and crying.

Then came my own written vows.

I took out the piece of paper from my inside pocket and began to read.

"I know that you think that I just started to love you. In fact, I loved you from the beginning. I looked at you for protection, but now I look at you for happiness. I was sad when you left, when I left. I couldn't sleep at all. I couldn't look at the sun without thinking about your blonde hair. I couldn't look at the sky without thinking of how you soar. I couldn't think at all without thinking of you. I hope that you understand that I will never ever even consider leaving you once more. I want to be _your _protection now. I want you to look at me for happiness. I want you to know that with me, you should always feel at home."

I looked at her eyes, now overflowing with tears, and again I had to restrain myself, for the want to kiss her was far too great.

The preist wiped his eyes, and nodded at Max to say her vows.

"Um…okay…Fang. There is only one thing that I have to say: I love you. I've always loved you. I will always love you. I just want for us to stay together, to laugh and to cry together…"she took a break to catch her breath. "To live and to die together."

I was sobbing now, and I looked into her eyes, and I saw that true powerful feeling of love.

The rings followed.

"With this ring, I thee wed." I said as I slipped the ring over her finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed." Max, slightly quivering, slipped the ring over my finger.

We both laughed, and we turned to the preist.

"I now am proud to announce, Mr. and Mrs. Fang. You may kiss the bride."

I finally gave in to the temptation, reaching in and kissing her with all the passion I had inside. Cheers and whoops erupted from the flock, and the whole crowd gave us a standing ovation.

We ran down the aisle, where I carefully picked her up, and flew into the sky. I decided for a little alone time before the wedding…

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I know that that was a little 2 short! I hope that you enjoyed it though! I think that I'll do the reception, then skip ahead two years. That way, Amanda or Max may get a little surprise...What do you think? REVIEW!


	6. Chapter 6

**Max's POV**

After we were officially married, I was scooped by Fang's strong arms and flown into the clear sky. The cheers died out as we flew higher and higher. I had no idea where we were going, but knowing Fang, he knew that I hate surprises, so we wouldn't tell me anything, just to play with me. I laid my head on his hard chest, and we moved to the lake. What were we doing here?

A big willow swayed gracefully in the breeze. Fang slowed down, landed steadily on his feet, and sat down, his back against the trunk. I was slowly set next to him on the wet grass. I smiled up at him. We just sat there, staring at the ripples the wind formed in the water. The dragonflies whizzing against the cattails.

"We're married." I said it, containing my screams. If you have ever gotten married, you would know that intense feeling you have, that fire burning inside you. It's not that easy to hold in, let me tell you.

"I know." His usually masked face had happiness written all over it. It used to be so rare, seeing him smile. At least for me now it wasn't.

I pondered on something, and then said, "Well, you know what married couples do, don't you?"

Once it was out, I couldn't believe it. Yeah, I was thinking about it, but being so blunt… was that really me who said that?

His face was still for a moment, but his eyes were filled with amusement. "Yes."

"And?"

He slowly moved from his arm from under my head and was now crouched on top of me. "Only if you want to."

The way he said it made me wonder how I maintained consciousness. He was so seductive. I managed to squeak out, "I want to, with you."

He nodded, and began with a slow passionate kiss. I inhaled deeply through my nose, hoping that I wouldn't break the kiss. I didn't. I reached up and began to undo his shirt. Button by button. His hand made its way to my back, circling my back to find the zipper. He unzipped my dress.

The area was well guarded by woods, so we had no worries. His lips traveled from my lips to my neck, down to my chest, and then back up. I heard buzzing around my ear. I swatted whatever was there away. Then, I felt a hard pinch on my arm, and I almost screamed. I cringed slightly, and I was glad that Fang didn't notice, or it didn't seem like it. I ignored it. I didn't want this to stop. I tried my hardest to keep breathing, but this was so unreal. I think he noticed that my chest stopped rising, and he stopped.

"You okay?" Always worried. Concern filled his eyes.

"Yeah. Fine. I think I'm just tired," I was mad at myself. How could I be so weak? My lungs felt swollen, and so heavy. My arm hadn't stopped burning. It throbbed murderously.

"Don't worry. It's exhausting." So he hadn't noticed.

He helped get my dress back on, and he began to button his shirt. The world couldn't stay still anymore. It kept going in circles, again and again. I struggled to keep consciousness, but I couldn't get the oxygen into my lungs, and I think I was out before I hit the tree.

**Fang's POV **

I was buttoning my shirt, and I heard Max go hard against the trunk. She had fainted.

"Max?" I checked her pulse, and it was barely there. Like a faint thump under my fingers. I didn't think that this hurt that much. I knew that something was wrong. I didn't even bother with the last few buttons, and I scooped her up and flew back to the cabin. I cursed as my wings didn't speed up. I had to practice more. I was getting slower and slower. This was going to be interesting.

We flew back to Dr. Martinez's house, where all of the people were in the back. They sounded slightly confused, but I didn't know why.

Angel came running out of the front door, letting me know that she had heard my thoughts.

"What happened? I got the people out back to distract them. They're all pretty drunk, so it didn't matter," she asked me, in her little 6 year old voice. It's kind of weird, hearing a girl that young say 'drunk' so normally. I think they got her birthday wrong. She was too mature to be six.

"She was fine, until…" Mature or not, I wasn't going to tell a little girl what I had just been doing. Who in their right mind would?

I carried her to the couch in the living room. Iggy and Amanda met us there. Iggy stayed with me while Amanda rushed into the kitchen. She was always handy with first aid.

_Angel, go with Gazzy and Nudge. Don't let them in here._

Angel responded, in her head, _Why, Fang?_

We don't want to worry anybody. You might be able to tell Dr. Martinez and Jeb, possibly Ari, but make sure they're alone. Nobody else can know. 

Angel nodded.

I heard the screen door to the back slam, and claimed it safe to talk. "We were out by the lake…having…" I felt my face go warm, and Iggy nodded, understanding what I was going for. I was grateful he didn't make me say it, and continued, "and she wasn't breathing. It scared me, so we stopped. The next thing I knew, she fainted," I explained. Amanda came back with a bit of interesting colored salt and a wash cloth.

She put some salt into her palm, and held it up to Max's nose. She gasped awake, her eyes wide. She was so pale.

"Where am I?" she whispered, her eyes closed once more.

"Max, it's Amanda. You're at home. Are you okay?" Amanda was talking in a low soothing voice. She wiped Max's forehead. She was sweating profusely.

"My arm…" she let out a heart-breaking whimper, and she fell into darkness once more.

Amanda gave me a look, like she was confused and then she looked at her left arm.

A welt was forming around one center point. It was dark red, and the center was pure white. Amanda ran her fingers over it.

"I think that's a bee sting. She's allergic." Amanda's eyes looked frantic, and she rushed to the phone. She shouted into it for about 2 minutes. She then hung it up, and ran upstairs.

After what seemed like 2 seconds, she returned with a bag. It was probably packed with Max's clothes, because I recognized my sweatshirt that I had given her. "We have to get her to a hospital. This could be fatal. I can't fix it. The venom's already traveling in her bloodstream. It would take hours to get this out of her veins. She wouldn't survive." Amanda got her cell phone, and shoved it into her pocket. I noticed that she had changed out of her dress to jeans and a shirt. She was working at lightening speed here.

"Iggy, go and tell everybody that the bride and groom are going on their honeymoon. Then, when they're all out here, tell Dr. Martinez and Jeb the truth. We'll meet them at the hospital." She handled things so well in a crisis; so level headed.

Iggy nodded, noting the urgency in her voice. Before we knew it, everybody was in the front lawn, and I walked out with my "bride" in my arms. Nobody looked at her face, because her veil was over it. Angel found her way to the front, along with Nudge, Gazzy, Ella and Mr. Boyfriend, and Dr. Martinez. We flew into the sky, Iggy and Amanda in tow.

**Max's POV **

When I finally woke up, I was in one of the worst places in the world for me. A hospital. The smell of alcohol made me want to puke, and the tubes in my arms... let's just say they creeped me out.

I looked to my right, to see Fang sleeping in what looked like a very uncomfortable chair. He looked so nice when he was sleeping. He looked so tired.

To my left, Amanda and Iggy were resting, too. Weird. I looked out the window to see that it was dark out. Really dark. I remember knocking out around the afternoon, by the lake. Faint memories of the living flashed in my head, but they were so far. I didn't remember anything else. I guess I had been out from then until tonight. It couldn't have been that long.

My head turned quickly to the door because I heard the door open, and I saw mom walking into the room.

"Hey, sweetie. How are you?" she whispered, and before she made it over to the bed, she put her jacket over Amanda. She looked really comfortable in Iggy's arms either way.

"My arm hurts," I said, rubbing my throbbing arm. I saw it was bandaged. My headache was gone, and the room remained still. I was glad.

"It should stop after a while. You, young lady, are allergic to bees. You need to be more careful, but since it's fall, they shouldn't be out there that much."

We were surprised to see Fang stir awake. He turned to look at me. He was still in his tux, and looked super handsome. He rubbed his face over with his hand as he walked over.

"Hey. How are you?" he bent down, and kissed the top of my head. Why was he so sweet?

"I'm fine. How'd I get here?" I remembered that I hadn't exactly gotten here on my own free will.

"When we were by the willow…" he paused, acknowledging that my mother was there, "you collapsed. Out cold. I freaked out, and I came back to the house. You regained consciousness for a little while, telling us about your arm, and you fainted again. We got you here letting people think we were going on our honeymoon. You've been out for 3 days." Fang actually said that all at once. He wasn't normally this talkative. His voice was slightly raised, but Amanda and Iggy remained asleep.

I felt my eyes widen as he finished. _Three _days?

His voice and eyes softened, "Why didn't you say anything?"

Mom got the gist that we wanted to be alone, as if she knew what we really had been doing in the lake, and said, "I'm going to take all the guys out to dinner at a pizza place or something. Jeb and Ari are at home. They knew you would pull through. We'll see them soon. We'll be at home around 10:00. Call if you need anything."

She kissed me on the head, giving Fang a smile and left the room. Fang pulled up a chair and rested his elbows on my bed.

"So?"

"I didn't want to stop," I told him the truth.

Fang looked at me, and I think I saw a blush pass over his face, and then he looked me in the eyes again.

"You kind of shifted, like you were hurt. I didn't know. I thought you would have said something. I know you well enough not to ask twice." He chuckled, in spite of himself.

"I should have told you. If I had said something… I wouldn't be _here_." I took one look around the room. I had to close my eyes to hold down the nausea

"I think that even if you had told me, you would still be here. Amanda didn't have the power to heal you after 10 minutes. After a little bit the venom was already going. Promise me you'll tell me if something is wrong. I can't handle watching you like this!" his voice was raised again, but this time, Amanda and Iggy woke up. They looked at us, rubbed their eyes, and got up.

"Hi, guys. You guys should get home. Get some decent rest." Fang said. He always wanted me for himself. So selfish, don't you think?

Iggy nodded, and headed to the door. He paused, because Amanda hadn't followed him. She walked over, hugged me, said good night, and left the room. I didn't think they would be so willing. At least ask me how I'm feeling, for pete's sake. Okay, I'll stop now. They looked really tired, with purple circles shadowing their eyes. I cut them some slack.

The door closed and Fang got back to business. "Promise me."

I looked into his eyes and saw the pain I had caused him, and on our wedding day! I couldn't walk away from this. Literally and emotionally.

"I promise."

"Good." He got onto the bed, moving around the tubes as he went, and put his arms around me. I snuggled closely, and that's how we were until morning.

I was discharged the next afternoon. Everybody had crashed at our house, on the floor, couch, wherever there was a comfy covering. I couldn't step without almost stepping on somebody. I guess we had served more than enough wine at our wedding.

"How are we going to get them out of here?" Nudge said, looking around.

I thought for a little bit. Gazzy looked at me with an evil glint, and he pulled down on my shirt. I crouched down so he could whisper something in my ear. His idea was brilliant.

I found an unworthy little plate, and crashed it onto the floor. Everybody was awake instantly.

"EVERYBODY, GO HOME PLEASE!" Amanda screamed.

Everybody got up fromt their spots, rubbing their eyes, tripping over a chair or something, mumbling, "Nice wake up call" or "God, a little louder why don't ya?" still half asleep, and exited the house through the front door.

"Let's clean up then," said Nudge. Nudge just said 'clean up'. Nudge never said that. It proved something to me that I knew was inevitable, but I couldn't bear to face: our flock is changing. Growing up. I looked at every one of us and cleaned up in shock.

Angel was actually calling shots at times. She was using her mind reading abilities to the fullest. She handled situations unlike any normal 6 year old.

Gazzy wasn't hooked on bombs as before. He was quieter, smarter, and he seemed to be a big thinker. He would grow up to be a scientist, I think. Somebody who would be compassionate.

Nudge was acting more grown up. She just said 'clean up'. It seemed like yesterday she dropped a bowl of cereal on the floor and didn't clean it up until the next week.

Iggy and Amanda… they were practically adults, married and happy.

Fang and I, we had been thinking ahead of our time to survive since birth. We couldn't think any other way.

But our family would grow, and we would have a smaller one, being a Nudge and a Gazzy and an Angel for us. A baby for us, so we could watch it and take advantage of youth in our flock. I could feel it.

* * *

I am soooo sorry. Writers block. Yah, not fun. It killed me not knowing what was going to happen in my story. Working on Chapter 7 as we speak! REVIEW! I mean it! I can't go on without feedback! 


	7. Chapter 7

Two years later…

**Amanda's POV**

So it has been two years since I had found this family. My family. I had a husband, a sister, a half brother, a brother in law, two other 'sisters' and one 'brother'. That's what I was dealing with. The occasional fight over the shower. The entire supermarket left empty after we bought what we need for one dinner. The driving lessons. School and homework. My job.

And love. Lots and lots of love.

Iggy and I have been very close. Our flock is still really close, but we each have separate lives. My fortune was used to put all of the younger children in school. We eat fairly well, and our home resembles my cabin. It is a wooden structure, with Victorian windows. It's like England meets wilderness. It has 5 bedrooms, and there is a big kitchen, a piano room, and a living room. We don't have very much money left right now, just a couple hundred thousand, but we made it work. The house was paid off, and the college funds were fulfilled. We just needed money for gas and food and school. As long as we had each other, though, we were fine. We are currently in France.

Iggy and I work at the hospital filing papers, and Max and Fang work assisting the nurses. When the time is right, we might be able to get into high school and college, but I highly doubt it. We had a difficulty training the younger kids to put them with other kids their age. I don't think we have time to train each other.

It's Saturday, so we have work shifts. I don't have to go to work until later. It's the day after Iggy's birthday. Yeah, he doesn't have an exact day, so we made it up in his favorite month, February. He was 15 when I met him, so we made it February 15. He turned 17 yesterday. I gave him a CD of his favorites songs dubbed by yours truly. He loved it, if I do say so myself.

I was finishing up lunch, fruit salad and subs when I heard keys in the front door. I heard the lock click, and Iggy walked in from work. He had volunteered for the morning shift, because Gazzy wasn't doing well in History, and I helped him study for his test on Monday so we could spend time with each other. Fifth grade history wasn't fun. I was exhausted, but I didn't feel right letting somebody else take my shift. Iggy was very persistent, however, and no matter how hard I tried, he said he would go. I smiled at him in the end, grateful that he was my husband.

"Mandi?" he called, hanging up his jacket and scarf. I heard his backpack fall to the floor, and his boots clanging on the wooden floor. He noticed he had them on, and took them off before proceeding into the kitchen. He knew how I was with cleanliness.

"In here!' I called.

My husband walked into the kitchen, and found his way to me. I was washing up the knives I had used to cut the watermelons, and he grabbed my waist. I jumped in surprise, but rinsed the knife off and started washing the next one.

"Hello there," he said, kissing my neck.

"Hi." I put the knife down and wiped my hands. I turned around to kiss him back.

"How was work? Where are the guys?"

"Great. I just love filing papers," he smiled at his own sarcasm, and continued, "They are playing out front." I gave him an annoyed look. If you didn't get the kids in, they would never come in, and they had homework for the weekend. "I told them 10 more minutes." Iggy finished, saving his guts.

I smiled, and he gave me a quick peck on the cheek before heading to the stairs. I picked up the knife I had been washing and scrubbed it.

Before he went up the first step he said, "Well, we do have 10 minutes…"

I almost dropped the knife in surprise, and carefully put it down in the drying rack. I turned around, and I chased after him up the stairs. Did he just say that? We had a mind reading third grader, and we all had slightly acute hearing.

"Iggy Ride, get back here this moment!" I shouted. He laughed as he wrenched open the bedroom door. I beat him inside. I got him from the shoulder and the second he turned around, his lips were on mine. He pressed surprisingly hard. I almost fell back from the sheer force.

"It's just that we haven't in a while…" Iggy said sadly, getting the apron off my waist.

I knew where he was coming from. Work and homework and housecleaning. That was our life. We didn't have time anymore. I decided that we would take advantage of the time we had.

I reached up to get his shirt off. He smiled against my mouth, knowing he had won me over. As if that was much of a surprise. I loved the feeling his velvety skin had on mine, and he used it to his advantage. After the shirt was off, I was carried bridal style to the bed. His pants and my skirt landed right next to the shirts. Our kiss never broke unless my shirt was going over my head. We were both on the bed in about 2 minutes.

My mind drifted to many places. His hands carressed my back, and I could feel it, but I was thinking too much. I thought through almost all of it. I was there, but not there. I felt him and yet I felt so far away. I thought about my empty life before, and how now I was so close to somebody. And what happened two years ago, with my head. How he had stayed with me. How he had said he would always be there for me.

Then I came back to the present, and I kissed him with so much passion, I had to wonder why I had kept it inside this whole time. His eyes widened in surprise, but he kissed me back. This only lasted a few seconds.

"What happened?" he said, pulling back. He was panting heavily.

I had realized what I had just done, and I got up and dressed up quickly. What was wrong with me?

"Amanda…" Iggy was off the bed, getting dressed in lightning speed, but I was out the door before he finished.

I ran into the kitchen hallway. I would have to face him sooner or later. I put one hand against the wall to steady myself, tracing the panelling with my fingers.

Iggy ran into the kitchen, letting the door slam. I flinched as I heard the clang. He turned me around to face him, and it tortured me to see him so lost. I spoke in a soft voice, the lump in my throat preventing me from speaking correctly, "I just… I was thinking about my life before…and I remembered how much I loved you. It just came out, all of it, in that one kiss," I looked into his eyes, trying to see what he was feeling.

"You love me?" he said this as if it was the first time I had told him. It frightened me slightly.

"More than you know."

"And I love you too."

"I thought so."

He then grabbed me by the arms, and kissed me with the same force as I had, and we pulled apart, breathing heavily.

I don't think that we just loved each other. I think that we had seriously become one.

We stayed in the hall, staring into his eyes, when we heard the door open.

"We're back. We'll shower and get started on our homework."Nudge was taking her boots off, and I heard Angel and Gazzy clamor in. They followed suit, and they all headed upstairs to shower up and start homework.

"Got it." Iggy responded, not taking his eyes off of me.

The whole of that week was spent staring at each other. I couldn't go two hours without having to call him. And if I didn't, he would. The sound of his voice was my oxygen, his kisses were my blood. Without them, I would die. That is if we couldn't possibly see each other during work. We were so close. Closer than before. It was scary as hell and wonderful as heaven at the same time. We depended on each other.

The next week I was expecting my "time of the month" so to speak. I was prepared, and I hated it. I dreaded its arrival. I hated having to change all the time, then the cramping, then the hunger. And everyday for that week, I was happy it didn't come, but the next week came, and I began to want it to come. So weird. I'm never late. Not normally. Not this late, at least.

I began to count the days. How interesting it is, how something can be dreaded and then desired in just a couple of days. But I didn't not want it to come, no matter how much I did't like it, because if it didn't come, that meant I was...

Day after day, I would check every hour to see if something would come. Anything. Something. _Please? _

After February ended, I was really panicking. I couldn't seem to process the fact that it hadn't come yet. I said I would wait for another two weeks before checking if I was… god, just say it!

March came, and March was half way done, and March ENDED! The whole month I was preoccupied. Iggy would look at me weird. I would answer him in quick yes and no formats. He didn't seem to buy it. It hurt me to see him so lost, but I had to wait. I would tell him only if I knew for sure. We had small arguments about my "moodiness" and I would just say that I was tired, and then he would worry about my head, and then I would tell him I knew it wasn't that. Then we would leave, cool off, and the next day it would be fine until he came home. It was the most painful month in my life. And I knew that I wasn't the only one suffering.

I couldn't think of anything else. I cooked, helped with homework, and then slept. I worked in between, and attempted to remember to breathe. _Why hadn't it come yet?_

When I couldn't wait anymore, I went to the supermarket with Max. The two men went to the park with the younger guys to play some ball at the park I had recommended to them two years ago. It was now a get away to have fun. Plus, to have them all there for me to buy a pregnancy test, yes it would explain everything, but I don't think they were expecting it.

"So, what do we need?" Max said, getting a cart.

"We won't need the cart. We don't need anything for the guys," I said, wondering if she would guess before I told her.

Max looked at me inquisitively, and put the cart back. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine… I just think I'm…." I couldn't bring myself to say it. "The day after Iggy's birthday. We hadn't had any fun in a while, what with the guys and school and work, so we decided to have some. We thought that we deserved it. And Iggy… you know how tempting he can be. At least compare him to Fang."

Max laughed, "Yeah, Fang can be pretty tempting too…" then her voice was serious, "Don't ever think that you don't deserve it. You've done more than enough for us. But that was TWO months ago."

"I know, and thank you by the way." Max smiled, and I continued. "Anyways, I was supposed to get my period the week after… it didn't come."

Max's reaction was an interesting one. First, she had to process the information, then when it registered, her face was in shock. Then it went to excitement, the bad kind, to excitement the good kind.

"And you think you're… pregnant?" Max's voice was in a whisper for fear that she would scream.

The tears were flowing steadily down my face, "Yeah."

I was then pulled into a firm hug, catching me by surprise because Max was usually sort of reserved and kept to herself. I didn't say I didn't want it, and I hugged her back. It felt so good to have this weight off of my shoulders. I sobbed once, and then pulled myself together.

"And we're here for the test, in case you were still wondering," I said, laughing, wiping the tears away.

"I'm not that clueless," Max said, chuckling too.

We made our way to the aisle with the tests and such, and picked two, one the least expensive, and another one that looked really advanced. We paid using the self check out, because we were only 16, and to see us buying pregnancy tests wouldn't be normal.

We got an extra bag so that it wouldn't show through the plastic, and flew home.

The flock was already eating the leftovers of the fruit salad and some burgers they bought on the way home. Normally I would scold them for buying unhealthy food when I could prepare a vitamin-packed dinner in half an hour. Today, I just nodded at them, and ran upstairs. I avoided Iggy's gaze. I don't know if he was looking at me or not, but I saw sadness as he threw his wrapper away.

"Hey, Amanda, I'm gonna eat now, if that's okay?" Max called, getting her burger out of the brown bag.

"Yeah, no problem," I honestly wanted her to go up with me, but I respected her decision. I gave her a look that should have said 'don't say anything' but I'm not sure if she got the message. I just hoped that she did. I went to our room, Iggy's and mine, locking the door. I watched the tears stain the box as I opened it and began to read the instructions...

* * *

I think you all know what the test is going to be, and I am thinking about how Iggy is going to react. I swear, if you guys don't review... AAAAH! PLEASE! for me? puppy dog eyes . Just tell me whatcha think!


	8. Chapter 8

**Max's POV**

I knew I made the mistake of eating without Amanda there. I wasn't the best secret keeper, but it was too late now.

I sat down, and bit into my burger the first second I got. I needed to keep my mouth full so that I _couldn't _talk. I kept getting Fang's "Slow down, I don't know the Heimlich!" but I just shrugged him off.

Angel, our little meddling mind reader, knew what was on my mind, and she dropped her burger onto the floor immediately. I couldn't believe it would shock her that much, and she ran upstairs.

"What was that about?" Iggy asked. He was sitting at the table still, even if he had finished. It's not like he could be with Amanda. She was checking if she was having his child!

"Nothing," I said, getting my fries out of the bag. I grabbed the bottle of ketchup and tried to occupy myself with getting the ketchup to come out of the bottle. Iggy didn't say anything else. I mean, you need concentration to get ketchup, don't you?

"What were you guys getting at the store?" Iggy asked again, looking me straight in the eyes. I had to look away. The sadness he had, I would have told him in a split second in front of everybody.

"She needed some women things," you would think that that would shut him up. Let me tell you… it didn't.

"What kind of 'women things'?"

"Iggy, I am not in that position…"

"No. you're not supposed to… she's not supposed to be keeping secrets from ME!" Iggy was shouting and he left up the stairs, and I knew where he was going. Everybody flinched as the chair dropped, even Fang. Gazzy was almost crying, and so was Nudge. I comforted them and told them that everything was fine. I tried to believe it.

**Amanda POV **

Pregnant.

One little pink line.

Pregnant.

I was PREGNANT!!!!

No freaking way. That was just the first test. I had one more. It had to be wrong. I couldn't be pregnant. I lifted my shirt, and I wasn't positive, because my eyes were clouded, but I saw a small lump forming.

_I'm imagining this. I can't be_.

I wiped my eyes, and I looked again. I saw the same lump, in fact, it was bigger.

_Okay, I'm not._

I was throwing away the test, crushing the box it came in, when I heard somebody pounding on the door.

"Yeah?" I called, trying to sound calm to no avail. My voice cracked as I shoved the test back into the box.

"Amanda, we have to talk," Iggy said, unusually frustrated. I jumped. He couldn't see this.

I tried to keep a level voice as I put the box under a towel and wiped my eyes. I opened the door to the bedroom, and he stormed in. He only called me Amanda when he was angry.

"You haven't been telling me everything. Ever since my birthday, you've been keeping secrets, and now you go to the supermarket and come back with a mysterious bag. You've been really moody. You won't tell me what's wrong. You tell Max, of all people, and you don't tell me. Your own husband! You have to understand that I am just angry that we ended up like this. We have never fought! I don't want to. I don't think that you do either." I was sobbing the whole time. Iggy stopped ranting, and came over. "Tell me what's wrong. I love you. Tell me."

I looked into his eyes and decided that I would tell him since I was sure, because now there was a glint of hope that he wouldn't be angry.

"Iggy…"

"Yes?"

"I'm kind of… pregnant…" I closed my eyes, and waited for the screams. Instead, however, I got a response. (A/N I know that they never know what to expect from each other, but that's the fun part)

"You're… pregnant?" Iggy seemed to be questioning his unnaturally acute hearing for once. That meant something. I didn't know what, but I knew it meant something.

"Yeah. Want me to check again, because I can!" I shouted, not knowing I had. I was so anxious.

"No. I believe you," Iggy said, avoiding my gaze. "Are you sure though?"

"I CAN CHECK!" I screamed, and I left the room. If it weren't for my super weak wings, I would have flown. I almost knocked Angel over, but she grabbed my arm and looked at me.

_I know you're scared, but Iggy isn't mad. Go and talk to him._

How did she get so mature? I knew deep down that she was right. I turned around, and headed for the bedroom. I was so ready to face him, but the room was empty. Iggy wasn't there. I looked at the window. The screen had been torn out.

Iggy was gone. No note, no goodbye, not even an 'I love you'. Just up and left.

I fell to the ground, my shoulders shaking with every sob that ripped through my body. Everybody must have heard me, because I heard them all run up to the room. They were all behind me. Gazzy came up and hugged me. It felt so good to feel loved.

But Iggy… he was gone. He was my love.

He was gone. All because of a baby.

**Iggy's POV **

She was pregnant. I was going to be DAD!

I couldn't handle it, and I guess she couldn't either, because she left the room in tears. I wanted so much to comfort her, tell her that I wasn't mad. I was kind of… happy. But I think that she didn't want to see me. So I left. I sort of needed to think things over. I figured that they wouldn't think I'd go too far.

Once I was in the air, I realized that I had no idea where I was going. The hospital, who would want to go there? I couldn't go home. Duh! They only other place: the park. I found that my only choice, and I headed to the park once more.

The park that we were recommended by Amanda really is a lot of fun. There is a good-sized track, scuffed by the use of it, but you can run on it without tripping. The swings are replaced every year, and the slides are well kept. I just go to play catch and Frisbee.

This time, however, I just came with my mind, full of thoughts.

Okay:

1. Amanda was pregnant

2. I was the father

3. Do I want this?

Did _I _want it?

To look at a child and let it call me "Dad". The closest I've ever come to is babysitting while Max and Fang leave on a date. All the other times, it's Fang. It's always been. He's been my dad. But this kid would be mine. It would look at me like Gazzy and Angel and Nudge look at Max and Fang and even me. And this time I would have it look at me, just at me and Amanda, that way. Yes. I wanted the kid.

With that final thought, I headed home.

I land quietly outside the front yard. I found the spare key on top of gutter. I put the lock in and opened the door.

I find everybody, Max, Fang, Gazzy, Angel, Nudge, and Amanda all huddled on the couch. Amanda clutched a pillow to her face, stifling her cries.

"He didn't leave you. Don't say…" Max was saying to a crying Amanda. She turned when she heard me enter. Amanda sighed in relief and covered her face in a pillow. She continued to cry.

Angel hugged her tighter. "I told you. He loves you. Don't you, Iggy?" Amanda took the pillow off of her face and looked at me in a wierd way. What was she feeling?

"I…" what have I done? I wouldn't leave her. I had promised her. Max looked angry. Very angry. She came over and gave me a hard push on the shoulder. "Where were you?"

I stumbled backwards, but regained my balance. "The park. Why?" I was confused. Did Amanda seriously not trust me that much?

"Why, then, did you not bother to tell US?!" Max was screaming.

"I'm sorry. I thought that Amanda wouldn't think I would leave her," I started, then I escaped Max's clutches and walked over to the couch. I got down on my knees, and was level with my wife. "I promised you I would never leave you." Amanda nodded, and she sobbed as I lifted her off the couch.

"I was scared," Amanda cried, wetting my shirt with her tears. "I thought you wouldn't want the baby. I do."

"Don't be scared. I'll always be there for you. I want the baby. Don't worry."

"Are you ready for it?"

"I think so. Are you?"

"Yep."

We nodded, gave one small kiss, and then we looked at the flock.

"I'm gonna be an AUNT. Oh my god. Just nine months. Somebody is going to be my niece or nephew. AAAAAAH! I… can't think of anything to say!"

We all laughed at Nudge's confused face. She was actually at a loss for words.

"Okay, so we have to have fun before we become parents. Ice cream?" Amanda said, getting up. She wiped her eyes and took my hand to help me up.

A chorus of "yeah, me, me" came from the younger kids, and we all walked to the door.

What a great day, huh?


	9. Chapter 9

**Iggy's POV**

"Iggy, come home!" Amanda was practically screaming in the phone.

"What? What's wrong?" I was naturally worried as hell.

"Nothing, just come home NOW!" she was hysterical, but the good kind.

I told he nurse on duty that Amanda was calling me, and she just nodded, understanding what I was going to say next. She knew about Amanda's pregnancy, so she let me take the breaks I needed.

I flew home this time, cursing my wings to go faster. I shoved the key into the lock, and it was a miracle I didn't break it.

"Amanda? Where are you?" I said, running straight into the living room. I didn't have to hear her answer, because I saw her balled in the couch smiling at me.

"Give me your hand," she said,

Knowing that if I disobeyed, I would get a nice fight going, I did as I was told. She placed it on her rounded stomach, and waited. What happened next was one of the most unbelievable things in the world.

The baby kicked me.

I jumped in disbelief and Amanda was laughing. I got more comfortable on the couch, and she curled up, her head on my shoulder. She closed her eyes, and waited with me. I got another kick after about 5 minutes.

"Does it hurt?" I asked,

"No, but I feel it," she answered. "Sometimes she doesn't let me sleep."

"She?"

"Don't ask why, but I think it's a girl."

I smiled, "I would like a daughter."

"Really?"

"Yeah," and I kissed her on the lips right before she fell asleep.

The flock got home from school and work that afternoon at around 4:00. I put my finger to my lips as they came in; Amanda looked exhausted. They understood. But as I was getting up from the couch, she woke up. She rubbed her eyes, and saw the flock.

"Hey, guys," she said.

"Hey, Mandi," Angel said, banana in hand.

"Do you want me to show you something?" she said. I smiled, knowing what she had in mind.

"Sure," Angel said. She looked confused as Amanda grabbed Angel's hand and placed it on her belly. When the baby kicked her, she almost screamed. "Max, Fang, guys, YOU"VE GOT TO TRY THIS!!" I laughed as everybody rushed over to the couch.

"What?" Gazzy said, and he placed his hand where Angel's had been, and he just stared at it wide eyed as the baby nudged him from the inside.

Even Fang and Max jumped in surprise.

The next day we went to Max's relatives. We decided to tell Dr. Martinez and Ella, because they are human, and they probably know about this sort of thing. They were thrilled that we trusted them with this, and they strongly recommended that at least Amanda stay with them for the remaining trimester. They also wanted to be at the birth, and recommended a doctor to us. I wouldn't leave her, and they agreed to let me stay as well.

We've been to the doctor every two weeks to check the baby. **(A/N my mom has been through this six times, so I know what I'm talking about!) **It was healthy. The ultrasounds were the most beautiful things in the world. I would take the pictures and stick them in a wallet I bought. The baby would grow to the full term, born in October, around the 16th. That would make sense. The day after my birthday, nine months after. Perfect math. Amanda wanted the sex of the baby to be a surprise, no matter how hard I wanted to know. I really wanted, I think, a girl. The guess was still strong.

Amanda was really enjoying it, even through the mood swings and the morning sickness. These three months had been entertaining for her. She had her occasional ups and downs, but all in all she had fun.

Today we went for a walk. The fresh air seems to relax her. For her, it was more of a waddle. I would laugh, then she would punch me in the arm, and join in. We talked a lot about life after the baby's born. We were both excited, but she was more so. I think I still worried. The pressure of protecting this being, loving it constantly, wasn't that hard?

I enjoyed being alone with her anyway. Fresh air was perfect for us avian hybrids, even Amanda. Flying was out of the question. Have you tried flying with a 180-pound pregnant woman? Yeah, not easy after the first mile. Plus, the doctor seemed to recommend that flying would do something to the baby. Walks help. It keeps Amanda energized and strong.

We walked around the park, our park. Amanda loved to swing. She said that the breeze made her think of her brother. He had liked the swings, too. Then she would get all emotional, cry, and then we would talk about the baby.

The walk was an over all success. She only cried once. That was awesome! We were crossing the meadow to get home, when an unexpected person stepped in front of us. No, he _landed _in front of us.

Ari. Now, I had come to trust him, even when he had walked with Nudge at Max's wedding. I always had tentativeness when I was with him. New resolution: Always trust your gut. Ari looked as menacing as before. But instead of towards Max, it was towards Amanda. Why do these girls have that affect on Erasers?

"So, you're having a kid, huh? Well, I know some people who'll wanna hear about this!" and he lunged at her, grabbing her around the waist. In her limited abilities, she tried elbowing him in the abs. He just laughed.

"Wouldn't want to disappoint Jeb, now would we?" I said, seeing if I could change his mind.

"How can I, when he's DEAD?" Ari said. "He never gave a crap about me. It was all a set up! Anne isn't even dead!"

I couldn't believe my ears. Anne was still out there. This bites hard. I was beginning to feel really really really really angry. Not good for him, I don't think.

"IGGY!" Amanda screamed, struggling to get out of his grip. She gripped at his hands, now pressing into her stomach. She screamed in agony, and Ari didn't seem to care. I was beyond furious and ran to take off. Ari looked as if he was about to drop her, when another two Erasers took her into their arms.

"Do it, now!" one shouted. The second Eraser took a needle out, sedating Amanda. She went limp automatically.

I was in the air in seconds, lunging at Ari, giving him a major punch in the nose. "You back stabbing mother…" and I landed another punch into his abdomen, He let out a whimper as he fell to the ground. I remembered that the other two were the ones that really mattered. They seemed to be conversing about something, and they headed in an unknown direction. I followed them, furiously imagining what I would do to them the second I could get in reach.

Before I knew it, the third Eraser came flying right at me. I was thinking so much that I forgot to pay attention. I got a solid hit in the gut. I felt nausea overcome me, but I held it in. I threw an uppercut on his chin. I didn't hear the satisfying crack of the neck, and he came back unphased. "Stupid, stupid boy." The third Eraser came with another needle. I let out a groan as darkness blanketed my eyes.

**Amanda's POV **

I woke up. Guess where I was.

GERMANY!! Yay! And guess who showed up!

ANNE! Yay! And who appeared next to her?

SOME…woman that I didn't know.

"Good morning, Amanda," the woman said, a normal English accent about her voice.

I let out a groan in response. I felt sick to my stomach. Which, by the way, seemed significantly bigger than before. I looked around frantically for my husband. Max, somebody.

"They are in a separate room," Anne said, reading my thoughts. "Iggy, on the other hand, is to your left."

I turned, and I saw my hubby, unconscious. I tried to call him awake, but he didn't stir. He couldn't have heard me anyway; my voice was hoarse. I saw his hands were bound to the bed, as were mine. My legs weren't exactly free either.

"I shall wake him up if you stay with us, give birth to your child, and give it to us," Anne said. "All of you have been asleep for 2 and a half months."

_Months. _This baby was due any day now. I couldn't believe it. I was going to _give birth _to a baby. In a hellhole. Wonderful!

I was torn between my two loves. My husband and my baby. I thought it through, knowing that even if we left the baby here, we would get it back somehow.

"You swear on whatever you have, because I know you don't own a soul, that you will wake him up?"

"On whatever I have," Anne said, smiling. Evil bitch.

I let out a shaky breath, "Wake him up."

"Good choice, young lady," the woman said, and she began to unhook Iggy from the monitors. I knew he wouldn't wake up until later.

"He shall be up and about in a couple of hours." Both the woman and Anne began to leave the room.

"Wait!" I shouted.

The turned around, looking at me annoyed.

"The flock?"

"Oh, they're fine. We haven't been doing anything except locking them up. They are all unconscious, but we think that they should witness the miracle of birth. Oops, I just spoiled the surprise!" The woman said, laughing and feigning shock.

"And who are you?"

The woman's eyes went wide, as if she had just noticed something. "Oh dear girl, you still haven't figured it out?"

I honestly hadn't. Though she did look familiar…

"I am your mother, Amanda. Your father, however, is no longer alive. He was a worthless piece of crap, just like you."

I laid there, my face twisted in a look of agonized shock. The white witch was my MOTHER! My father was dead. Max's father was dead. This wasn't good.

How could this be?! I wasn't anything like her. If anything, I had her hair and her eyes. That's it!

I cried for hours until I saw Iggy stir out of the corner of my eye. He turned around, and he looked me straight in the eyes.

"Amanda?" except this time, he wasn't angry. He was still so weak.

"Yeah. It's me." I was still crying, but some tears were just rolling down my cheeks. I couldn't wipe them away.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Iggy was always protective of me. He looked at my stomach, and his eyes went wide. "My God, how long have I been out? A month?"

"We've all been out for 2 and a half. The baby…" I stopped as I felt something flop over in my stomach, and I felt my pants soak. Before I could say anything, the worst pain in the world exploded in my lower stomach.

I screamed, scaring Iggy out of his wits. "What's wrong?"

"My water broke!" I was really crying now.

I think I was constantly being watched. The next thing I knew, I was being hooked up to more monitors. The pain subsided, but I felt, as the next one, building up like a wave, was about to crash. I held in my scream this time, but a whimper came out either way. This pain was unbearable.

This was too much for me, but I had no choice. I heard the door open, as the flock was being dragged in and set into chairs.

"You guys wanna see what I went through?" my mom shouted.

They all looked frightened at me, but I couldn't look at them. I was turned in a way that couldn't allow me to.

Iggy was still tied to the bed, trying furiously to escape. My contractions came in waves, barely giving me a break. Just think about a person stabbing you repeatedly and then ripping you apart. No matter how hard Iggy was trying, however, he was always cheering me on, telling me "Great job" or "Breathe". I was grateful that he was at least there. How did women do this alone? This was too much!

I needed him. Iggy. He was always there for me. Every time I was checked for dilation, I felt like closing my legs, but they were doctors. They wanted this baby alive, and so did I. I found the time to think rationally.

"I won't push this baby out until Iggy is here," I said, indignified.

"What? No, he's right there." Anne said, preparing herself for the main event.

"Untie him, or you won't have a baby!" I screamed at her. I closed my eyes, breathing as another contraction hit. They were so close together and strong now. This time, fear was plastered on her face as she got some guys to untie him. Iggy appeared the next second by my side.

"You are doing so great, you know that?" he whispered into my ear. All I could do was nod as the next contraction prepared to hit.

Iggy noticed, and began to try to distract me. Like he had when I was in the hospital the other time. I was humming songs.

Anne walked over to check my cervix, and it turns out I was fully dilated.

"And that means…"

"In what could be minutes, we'll be parents," Iggy said it with so much pride, I almost forgot about the pain. Almost.

"Okay, I want you to push for ten seconds, got it?" my mother wasn't the best compassionate person. She rolled her sleeves up, and had a mask over her face. I just looked her dead in the eyes. She took that as an "I understand."

"Okay, one, two, three!" One thing: pushing a baby out is not fun. It hurts. Bad.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!" I screamed as Iggy counted down from 10. He kissed me after every number. He didn't seem to care that I was crushing his hand. I felt so supported. Angel kept sending me happy thoughts, calming me down. The push ended, but a new one began the second after. I felt a burning going on as the head emerged. I screamed in agony as the contraction ended. I fell back on the pillow.

"The head's out," Anne said, taking the suction thingie and sucking the mucus out. What I was thinking about, however, was the fact that the baby was half in, half out, and it burned like hell. I couldn't breathe. It hurt so much.

Iggy checked the head, yes he looked down there without fainting, and when he came back, he noticed that no sound was coming out of my mouth, "Amanda, stay with me. She's right there. I can see her. She's beautiful," I saw his eyes well up, but I still couldn't catch my breath. "Iggy, it's burning. So much," I said, gasping for breath. I couldn't grasp it. Contractions came back to back, and I was bordering hysterics.

"I know, love, but just one more push, and that's it. You'll hold your baby in your arms. That's all. Remember: I don't want another pretty face, I don't want just anyone to hold, I don't want my love to go to waste…" he was trying to keep my calm.

He wanted me to keep going. "I want you and your beautiful soul…"

I was so tired. I couldn't go on. "I can't do this." I said it out loud.

"Yes, you can! You're doing it right now! Plenty of women can do this, and you're stronger than any of them," Iggy said. He bent down and kissed me hard on the lips. I broke away when the next contraction hit.

"Come on, Mandi. One, two, three," it finished so quickly. The pain surged through my body for a short while, then it was gone. One second I was pushing, the next, I felt a slimy figure slip out, and I gasped audibly. All the pain was gone. It wasn't there anymore. I fell back on the pillow one more time, and listened intently. Iggy wiped the sweat from my forehead, because he had a free hand. I heard a faint mewing sound, and I knew the baby was alive. I cried in joy, as I looked down at my child. Iggy was laughing and crying too. He was hugging me closely.

"You have a girl. Name?" Anne said, bundling the baby up in a pink fleece blanket.

"Oh my god, what were the names?" Iggy said, looking at our daughter and me.

A chorus of names came from the flock. Natalie, Jillian, Joy.

"Gabriella." It was the name of an author that I loved.

Iggy looked at me, after I said it. He nodded. "Gabriella it is."

The baby was placed in my arms, and I cuddled it to my chest. She was gorgeous. She had Iggy's gorgeous blue eyes, but my black hair. She would definitely be a babe.

Before I knew it, she was being taken away. Big mistake. You never take a baby away from its mother. I lunged at the scientist that had taken my baby and began to fight. Considering my condition, I felt good. He gave the baby to another scientist and ran away. Chicken. I thought I would have to do it alone, but in the midst of the birth, the flock had been untying each other. They were all ready to fight. I had lost about 8 pounds, and Iggy found the strength to lift me. I clung to him. I was carefully set outside the room. Everybody else was in the room, fighting all the Erasers headed our way, or my way. Angel found a way to get the baby out of the arms of the scientist dude who dared take her away from me.

We left Itex, not bothering with Anne or my mother (and only I knew she was my mother) and we landed in Dr. Martinez's front yard, and I felt horrible. Sick and tired and dizzy. I felt Iggy's arms catch me before I hit the pavement.

**Iggy's POV**

I shouldn't have let her fight. She had just given birth, but she was so mad, I was scared to go and distract her. She collapsed once we landed infront of Dr. Martinez house. Dr. Martinez drove us straight to the hospital. Max held Gabriella while I held Amanda. She was so pale, but so beautiful.

The doctors took her into the emergency room immediately, and they hooked her up. She had blood transfusions, and I donated some of mine. They put Gabi in the nursery, and she turned out healthy. They would release her probably before Amanda got better.

She hadn't woken up since we had landed. The doctors say that we got there just in time. They wouldn't let me stay with her, but they told me she had started seizing and hemorrhaging. I freaked out, but they told me that she was healing up well (surprise, surprise), and that she'll just be on strict bed rest for the next couple of months. For now, she was in a deep sleep. She needed that.

I waited next to her bed. I looked at the whiteboard in her room. It had the date: October 2nd. My daughter was born on October 2nd. She was beautiful. Blue eyes, jet black curls. Just like her mom. Her mom was a vision, too.

I snapped back to the present as I saw Mandy roll over, and she woke up. She stared at the ceiling, confused at first, but then she saw me, and relaxed.

"What happened?

"Hey, baby. You passed out. You shouldn't have fought," I said it trying to sound as quiet as possible. I didn't want to scare her,

"I know, but… wait, she is okay, right?" she said, worried.

"Yeah, actually, I can bring her in. You can feed her," I said, and gave her a signal that said "Be right back." She nodded, and I ran to the nursery. They gave me my daughter carefully. I held her delicately, and I swear I saw her smile. She was so happy.

I got back to the room, and Amanda was reading a book on parenting. "Just researching."

"You'll do fine," I said, handing her the baby.

"God, she's beautiful. She has your eyes, Iggy," she said it as if she had just realized it.

She slowly lifter her shirt, and I helped her unlatch her bra. Gabi was hungry, and began sucking immediately. Even I was amazed Gabi laughed, "Somebody has not been fed yet, huh? Now we know you're one of us."

I laughed, and that was how we spent three days. We fed Gabi, and played with her, and just had fun. Dr. Martinez and Ella and the flock visited. They all "awed" and "oohed" at her, and they had a right to. She was gorgeous. Gabi gurgled and laughed. Her favorite song was "Because you loved me". Like mother like daughter, huh?

We all flew back to Dr. Martinez's house after the third day. We apparently missed the fact that it had been BURNED TO THE GROUND! Ari had probably done that. We walked around the remains, but we handed them a credit card, the Maximum Ride credit card that was found in Max's pocket. They used our spare home nearby. Gabi offered it to them, and they felt they had no choice but to oblige. We finally settled down at the home for about two weeks, but we returned to France. We lived life pretty well. Days went by all blurred together. Gabriella, Gabi for short, was very active, but when she slept, she _slept_. She was the perfect baby.

The next couple of months were some of the best ones in my life. Watching my baby grow, learn to smile and gurgle. She was turning into a beautiful young girl.

Gabi told the flock about her mother and Ari. We all felt bad, and we let her know that that didn't change the way we thought about her. Then came the hard part: telling Max that Jeb was dead. It pained all of us to see Max so sad; Fang would stand around for hours just rubbing between her wings, trying to get her to calm down. "That can't be." Dr. Martinez was also crying, and they both left the room. There was uncomfortable silences for a while, and the funeral wasn't peppy at all.

I worried about her, but Max figured out that he was probably in a better place. Amanda made sure that she knew that Ari would pay before he died for causing her all this pain. After that, Max was practically back to normal.

The only problem was that Anne wasn't going to stop wanting Gabriella. And no matter how hard they tried, however, they weren't going to keep her from me. Ever.

* * *

Well, there you have it. Maybe the School will try again. Unless you wanna end it here! Again, I only know that unless you review! My email is in case you want to say something else. Just make sure you put in the subject "review for one more to the flock" or something. 


	10. Chapter 10

Well, here's the next chappie… yeah.

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**Iggy's POV **

So, you want to know my thoughts on having a toddler female avian hybrid?

Really interesting.

Gabi is really growing up fast. She's grown her wings in, and they have white with blue tips. Why, we don't know. They are a sight, let me tell you. She enjoys flying more than anything, and any room smaller than the living room freaks her out. She's free spirited and really active, even for a two year old.

She also happens to be the main target for the Erasers. We get a regular serving of Wolfboy every day. Angel and Gazzy and Nudge have certainly grown muscles. In two years, Angel looks like a thirteen year old, when she's only ten. Gazzy looks fifteen, and he's only twelve. And Nudge looks sixteen and she's only fourteen. In short, we don't look like we should, and definitely don't act like it. We've become wiser, learning how to think more logically. Our fight plans are much more efficient. Our baby girl is growing up with the "improved" flock.

Today we're here at the garden, picnicking. Surprise, surprise. My pride and joy, baby Gabs, is chasing the butterflies, and the funny thing is, that she can always get them. Her beautiful blue tipped wings camouflaged into the sky. She wouldn't go higher than 15 feet in the air because she was by herself. Amanda made sure that she was always being watched. It was a good Saturday. The guys had finished their homework, and they had agreed that today would be a good day to be out. It was actually sunny, since we had an unexplained set of rain, flood, and clouds.

We set up around the river, whose banks were still absorbing the excess water from the last rain.

"Hey, maybe we shouldn't be out here that long. I can see the clouds heading this way. They look ugly," I said, passing out the grape juice and the paper plates.

"Igs, don't worry. We'll be outta here in a while. Get the sandwiches, will ya?" Max said. Gabi saw that Max had left her post under the tree and followed her to the table. Max had become another one of Gabi's favorite people. They hit it off the second Max held her. She didn't even open her eyes. She just let herself be taken by her godmother.

"Mash, mash," she said, tugging at Max's pants. She turned around, picking her up and throwing her in the air. Normally, a parent would scold somebody for doing that to their baby, but seeing as Gabi can fly, there was no worry. Gabi loved it, and giggled as she landed safely in Max's arms. She was then set down in her high chair, where a delicious meal of carrots and potato chips awaited her.

Fang came back with Angel and the Gasman. They had been playing Ultimate Catch. See, it's ultimate because _we _play it. They put their gloves onto the grass. "Food ready? I'm starved," Gazzy said. This guy can eat twelve of these foot long sandwiches and not gain a pound. He's constantly playing a sport, or fighting Erasers. Whichever is available. So when 5 hours of catch has gone by, expect him to be asking for fuel.

"Yeap, get it while their not being eaten by flies," Nudge said, who had stayed behind. She seemed a little more laid back. She still got her regular exercise but she read more often. She was a really good aunt and sister.

We all dug in, and in less than 10 minutes, all 20 sandwiches were gone. Gabi had her one, and all the others had their 3 or 4. We all tossed our food, and headed inside before another threatening storm arrived.

"Let's see what we're in for today," Amanda said, turning our TV on. We went to the weather channel. We hadn't experienced this before. France wasn't this rainy. It was kinda the opposite. Bright almost all the time.

The woman spoke French, and we were learning, but we still had the subtitles on the bottom.

They read, "Reports of mysterious storms have been coming from New York, London, and Paris. These storms seem abnormal, considering the normal weather in these areas. France has gotten its share of storms, and locals have been very persistent, wanting an explanation. Our meteorologists are working hard with our labs to figure it out." Okay, fine. We'll just have to investigate ourselves. "On other news, Local Itex Corporation has come out with new compost. It's stink-free, and twice as efficient, getting your gardens well fed and healthy…"

We didn't have to hear anymore. Itex, a new compost material. They want to do something. Don't know what, but I bet you it's bad. We shut the TV off, and headed to our one source: the Internet.

Nudge, our whiz kid, turned her laptop on and began to type rapidly. She got on the Itex website. We knew all along that Itex wouldn't be quiet. Anne wouldn't stop until she had my daughter, and thought compost has almost nothing to do with us, its probably a cover up to what they're really trying to do. I definitely wouldn't let them succeed, and in any case, I would go beat their sorry asses until they knew that they would never get her. I knew that Amanda would do the same.

Amanda arrived at the website, clicking different links, finally arriving at the Compost product, "Here we go: Itex Compost. Guaranteed to help your garden grow twice as fast as normal compost. It contains a whole bunch of crap that I can't pronounce," Nudge said, scrolling down with the mouse. Okay, so they just wanted money. Maybe I was over thinking.

Nudge's face twisted in a look of disgust as she stared at the laptop screen. Choking up, she managed to get out, "Including naphthalene and carbofuron to repel and kill birds."

Holy crap.

* * *

I know that that is really short, but I know what to do. I just can't do that right at this moment. I'll probably do another 2 AM chapter, because by then I'll have it all planned out. REVIEW FOR MY SAKE! I need to know what you think. 


	11. Chapter 11

I am sorry it took so long to get this out. I have been debating on how this will go. Bare with me (is that the right "bare"?).

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**Max's POV **

I can't believe they would stoop so low to get my goddaughter as to make a product like this. A deathly compost. Wonderful. Now it was not only stinky, but fatal. I looked at the flock's face, their faces full of worry, confusion, and fear. I guess they didn't need her alive. The mere thought scared me out of my wits.

"How can this hurt us?" I asked hoarsely.

"Inhaling enough of it, or touching it," Nudge said sorrowfully. Oh my god. This can't be.

Fang came up beside me, putting his arm reassuringly around my shoulder. I don't think I was in the mood for it, so I shrugged him off, walking out of the room. I walked out the front door, and what I saw made my stomach do a complete 360.

Next to my mailbox, there was a fresh package of Itex compost, free trial. You would think that they would be at every house since it was a free trial, but it was only at our mailbox. On top, I saw a slip of paper, _Max _scribbled on the front. I instantly covered my mouth with my hand, trying not to breathe so much, and charged into the house. I almost knocked Fang over in the process. His expression was one of hurt, but he seemed prepared to embrace me. I was enveloped in his arms, and I sank into them, surrendering. I pulled away, "They found us."

"What?" he said into my forehead.

"Itex knows we're here. They left a package of Stink o Stuff," I said, swallowing to prevent puking. Nausea as a result of fear and the awful smell.

Amanda came down the stairs, Gabi on her hip. "What's going on?" she looked like a mother, even at the age of 18. Gabi was chewing on a biting ring, babbling gibberish.

Iggy ran up the stairs, taking Gabi away from her. A string of "dadadada" came out of her lips as she was transfered from her mother's arms to her father's. Amanda looked grateful that the baby wasn't leaning on her anymore. Iggy tickled the baby in the belly, making her giggle and drop the toy. He was a perfect dad and husband. Always knew what to do. Like my Fang.

"Um… I think we have to leave," Iggy said, hesitant for the response. He was bouncing Gabi up and down.

"Why?" Amanda asked, walking all the way down the stairs. We were all now crowded in the front of the house.

"Itex… has found us…"Iggy said. Amanda's eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth.

"Well how do you know? Did they send us something? Call us?" Amanda's eyes were frantic.

"They left us a package of their compost, and I think I saw a note attatched to it, but I couldn't bring myself to touch it," I answered.

Amanda was silent, thinking worriedly. "We have to go." She started up the stairs once more.

"I'll go and get the guys," Iggy said, going to get the rest of us.

We have had plenty of practice on the run, and our packs were always prepacked. Though in these two years, we haven't exactly had the need to get them out. We swatted the cobwebs away as we slung them over our shoulders.

"Wait!" Amanda said, running out of the house and locking the door. Angel and Gazzy and Nudge had been updated, and their faces were tearstained. I worried for their mental stability; would they crack?

"What about school? And the house? Our life?" she said, tears springing into her eyes.

Iggy walked over to her, putting the baby down so she could walk. He embraced his wife. "We'll be fine. I'll take care of it," he whispered into her ear.

She nodded into his shoulder, and grabbed her pack and her baby once more. "Let's go."

We U and A'ed into the afternoon sky. We had underestimated the power of Itex, however. We had actually thought that they would let us leave, fly away from our problems.

Boy, were we wrong.

* * *

Sorry about the shortness. Severe case of writer's block and, since I live in Puerto Rico, "beach syndrome." Meaning that I haven't been to the beach all summer, and I went today. Please REVIEW! 


	12. Chapter 12

**Amanda's POV**

Immediately after we had U and A'ed up into the clear sky, we were met by a group of beings. No, not "beings", because "beings" suggests that they were human or ALIVE. More like robots. _Flyboys._

You may wonder how I was flying. It just took hours and hours of practice and work outs and I regained my strength.

I gripped my daughter tightly, holding her close to me. How was I going to fight these assholes with a baby in my hands? Then, as if the little lightbulb in my brain lit up, I looked over at Max. She wouldn't fight much this time. I handed my daughter to her, knowing her amazing speed. She took Gabi, who was now crying, and sped of, heading north, knowing what I had mind. I began to join the fight.

**(A/N first fight scene. Bare with me)**

I was invited by an evil jerk: Ari. "Hello, Mandi. Long time no see." Oh, God, can you get any cornier? I returned his greeting by a nice punch in the gut. He was surprised at my strength, and doubled over. He regained his composure quickly, and gave me a good one on my left cheek. I stumbled, but not before using my awesome roundhouse kick to knock him out. Great, he was out of the way… for the moment.

I took a look at Iggy. He had his hands full with three Flyboys, but these were the old versions, so with a touch on the neck, they fell apart instantly. We didn't have anymore to fight after a short while, and we flew north.

**Max's POV**

I gripped my goddaughter, who was crying silently in my arms. I kept rubbing between her wings, but I guess that only worked for me when Fang did it. I wasn't paying attention to what I was heading towards. All I knew was I kept hearing this loud whine. When I looked up, I stopped flying in midair.

A hoard of Flyboys, 500 at most, were flying right at me. "Give us the girl" they droned. As if. The flock was catching up, but I couldn't stay where I was. So I waited for the opportune moment, closed my wings around me, and dove.

If you haven't had the chance to bungee jump headfirst, then there is no way to explain how awesome it feels to dive. I felt weightless. Gabi enjoyed herself a lot, squealing as we pulled up at the last possible minute. All the Flyboys that had followed us down crashed into the Earth, not having the brains to calculate the right timing. There go the first 200. All the others were defeated. I heard the crackles and the cracks of the Flyboys as they fell the to their deaths.

I looked over at Amanda, who was beginning to tire. Her wings weren't the best condition. I saw an Eraser come up behind her, and before I could call out, Fang came to her rescue. She gave him a thank you glance, and continued to fight. My little Angel was fighting really hard with one, since she couldn't reach their necks. She had to do it the old fashioned way. She had a cut going down the side of her head. It wasn't bleeding a lot anymore, and we would have Amanda fix her up in a jiffy. It felt as if the happiness had made the weight of my goddaughter lift off for a while, but the weight returned soon after. Weird.

The fight ended as quickly as it had started. Nudge and Gazzy came over to me. Amanda was grateful for my help, and I handed her daughter back to her. Amanda opened up the bundle, and there was…

A note.

_You want to see her again… you know what you have to do._

_-Ari_

As we unwrapped the rest of the bundle, all we found was a pillow. It seems I must have distracted myself with the fight, watching intently, and he slipped her out of my hands.

Amanda cried in disgust, holding the blanket close to her. We landed, and Iggy quickly comforted her. "She's gone." She couldn't stop repeating it. Tears were falling from her cheeks, but she ignored them. "We'll find her." Iggy always had a way with words, huh? Usually, that would have calmed her down, but it didn't work this time.

Inside, I couldn't have felt more guilty. If I had been paying more attention…

Angel read my thoughts, and sent me a message.

_It's not your fault. He would have gotten her one way or another._

Would he?

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Well… there you go. REVIEW!!!!! 


	13. Chapter 13

Just a little note. I made a little one shot on how Fang felt while Max was getting her chip out. Check it and R&R!!

Anyways, here's the next chapter!!! REVIEW!!

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**Max's POV **

"We have to think of something," Fang said as I looked for a safe place to take off again. That was the third or fourth time he had said that to me. He had a stern look on his face, but his voice was expressionless. His eyes alone told me that he would be persistent until we did as he wanted.

"No, really?" I said in my trademark sarcastic voice. I wasn't that stupid, even if I had lost my goddaughter from not paying attention.

"I mean stop, settle down, and really think. We don't even have the plan besides arrive to the school! Why are you in such a hurry?!" Fang said, his voice suddenly changing from emotionless to really forceful.

"Because…" I stopped short. I was about to tell what had really been happening during the fight. I was watching… and they took her right out of my arms. I couldn't bear to tell them, not yet. I racked through my brain, thinking of a decent reason, finding one quickly.

"Because in the time it takes us to think of something they could be doing things to her," Amanda's eyes widened in worry again, and I added, "I won't be specific."

"They're going to hurt her aren't they? They're going to experiment on her, inject her with stuff, cause her pain… THEY'RE GOING TO DO THINGS TO HER UNTIL SHE DIES!" Amanda screamed, her voice echoing through the hills. I flinched at her tone as I watched her fall on the floor, crying harder than before.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered.

Iggy made his way to his wife, picking her up in his arms, but not before shooting me a look that said _Smooth. That's the perfect thing to tell her._ I looked at him apologetically.

Amanda was exhausted. The worry alone tired her out. Her cries were now whimpers. "They can't hurt her," she kept telling herself before finally settling into a deep, deep, deep sleep.

"She's finally out. Fang, we'll do it. We'll… we'll wait. Everybody stack up. We have a plan to make tomorrow," Iggy said, setting his Amanda against the tree. He moved the strand of hair from across her face to the side, and kissed her lips. He whispered something in her ear, and looked back at us.

So that's what we decided. No, not "we". More like everybody else. If I counted the times that my input wasn't taken into consideration for decisions, I could finish on one hand.

Regardless, I agreed that we would need time to think of something effective and quick, so we stacked up, and we fell asleep.

Yes, even me.

Fang decided to take first watch after rubbing between my wings for two hours straight. And when _I'm _the one to fall asleep, I'm bound to dream.

And they're not happy dreams, let me tell you.

**Fang's POV **

Max had so much pressure on her right now. Her goddaughter, my goddaughter, was missing, and Max just seemed so persistent in going. I kept staring into the sky, watching for shooting stars. I wanted to see if it would make my wish come true. Cheesy, I know, but I was desperate. If you saw us, you would be helping me look.

Max was really dreaming tonight. I heard her mumbling a lot, just not loud. Not then, at least.

She turned the volume up a little, practically screaming "I'm sorry. I should have been watching!"

Should have been watching what? I listened to see if I would get anymore, but Max had settled down a little bit, and was silent.

_Should have been watching?_ She was holding Gabi in her arms the whole time. I thought so, at least... She had handed Amanda the blanket, and it was at that moment that she noticed the baby was gone.

I couldn't handle this anymore, and I decided to get some help. Not a physiatrist. I had only one choice: Wake up Angel.

I walked silently over the branches. They crackled a lot, but I made it all the way to Angel without waking up Nudge or Gazzy, who were curled up next to her. I really didn't think it fair that I had to wake up our little mind reader, but I needed to know what Max was thinking in order for us to form the plan. She won't tell me, and I can't bear to see her so unhappy, and not know what had done this to her.

I rubbed Angel's shoulder, whispering, "Hey! Angel! Come on! Wake up!"

She finally awoke, silently and carefully. It was a technique that we all had perfected. I motioned with my hand for her to follow me. She nodded, yawning, making me feel even more guilty for waking her up.

Once we were far away, I told Angel what I had heard, but telepathically. I couldn't take a chance that anybody, especially Iggy and Amanda, to hear this.

Angel's eyes were wide with shock, and she quickly took a look into Max's mind. The great thing is that at night, Max's mind is unblocked. Angel's wide eyes were soon closed tightly in concentration.

It didn't take that long for Angel to figure out what was going on. She opened her eyes, almost crying.

"What happened?" I asked, and I was really worried now. I thought it was that Max had handed the baby to Ari or something. It couldn't be that bad.

It was pretty bad, though.

"She… had been watching us fight, making sure we were all okay. She forgot she had the baby in her hands, and didn't pay attention to her. And, Ari just flew under and took Gabi away. It was so easy for him…" Angel said, tears on her cheeks, though through her voice, you would never guess she was crying.

"So she thinks it's her fault?" I said, glancing at Max. "I never knew she could be that… clueless," I said.

"Yeah, but I think that I'll be better for reading minds if I sleep," Angel said, her eyelids drooping.

"Alright, good night," I said, stacking fists with her one last time.

Again, I was alone with my thoughts. I walked over to Max again, scooting up right next to her sleeping figure. She looked more peaceful now, and I wiped the remaining tear off of her cheek.

_Why were you not watching Gabi? Why didn't you trust us to take care of ourselves? How are you going to tell this to Iggy? Or worse, Amanda?_

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a shuffle. I went on automatic defense, and turned around. I saw it was only Iggy, shuffling in his sleep. Apparently, he wasn't asleep anymore, and he rubbed his eyes and walked over to me. He slowly slipped his arm out from underneath Amanda's neck before he did.

"Hey," I said. God, what do I do? What do I do? What do I do?

"Hey, man," he said groggily, taking seat in the "oh, so comfortable" tree root. His eyes were troubled. "Do you want me to take next watch?"

"No, I'm good. You and Amanda are really tired," I said sympathetically. Please don't make me talk more, please don't make me talk more, please don't make me talk more…

I needed something to talk about to break this really terrible silence, but off the subject, at least a little bit.

"So… today was eventful," I said, meaning that to come out a little differently than he took it. To be honest, I needed something to keep me from _not _talking.

"Eventful? My _daughter _was taken away from me. By white coats, and taken to the worst place next to hell. My flesh and blood. She's gone, and the chances that she'll survive the first couple days, even hours are slim. Everybody knows it. That's why Amanda's crying all the time. And I don't think I can take anymore of this…" I heard his voice catch, and watched in surprise as Iggy's eyes watered.

Iggy never cried. Okay, he did, but only when it was really really bad. I guess he thought he would have to be strong for his wife. I mean, every time we saw Max crying, we freaked out because she was usually our strong shoulder. When she crumbled, so did we. Iggy was Amanda's strong shoulder, and if he did this in front of her, she would probably flip out even more, probably do something drastic.

"Iggy, we're going to find her. Max'll make sure of it. I'll make sure of it," I said, patting him on the shoulder. _I know that Max will make sure of it._

"I know. It's just…" Iggy stopped, wiping his eyes and nose on his sleeves, "she means so much. You don't know the feeling of love you feel towards your child. I mean, she's mine. She's _me and my wife. _We made her. And she's just so innocent and sweet and beautiful, and she doesn't need to have people shooting stuff into her system for her to be perfect. She already is," Iggy said. _Great, make me feel worse about not telling you exactly what happened. As if I don't feel bad already. As if _Max _doesn't feel bad already._

I nodded, making sure he knew I understood. "Iggy, why don't you get some rest? You look about as exhausted as Amanda, worrying like this. Relax. Tomorrow, we'll figure all of it out. You're no use half asleep," I added the last part, hoping it would lighten the mood (so unlike me). I was unsuccessful.

"Okay. See you tomorrow," he said.

"See ya tomorrow," I replied.

And I continued to look for two shooting stars. One for Amanda and Gabi and Iggy, and the other one was for Max.

Because God knows how much help they're all going to need.

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So, there ya go! PLEASE REVIEW!!!! And check out my two shot!! It's called "Is it the Anesthesia talking, or you?" Kind of stupid, I know, but I made it a little late at night. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Iggy's POV**

The next morning, we all got up relatively early. I shot right up, and Amanda did too. Everybody flew over to the School without a problem, so the next step was to find the room with the cages.

Fang walked alongside Max the whole time. She looked so determined, you didn't want to interrupt her. I wondered why she was, though, because she was my daughter, not to imply that she didn't care or anything. Just that she was our _daughter_. She was our flesh and blood, and I loved her more than anything in the world.

We found the cage room without a problem (shockingly) but there were around 500 cages. We figured out they were organized in type of hybrid. There were only about 100 avian hybrids, because we were one of the hardest to make and have them succeed. As we skimmed the cages, we saw some mutants that were dead, dying, or just terrible. In the end, we had the younger guys stay down at the bottom with Amanda while we looked.

Finally, at around the 6th row, I found my baby. Gabi was huddled in a corner, sleeping. She looked peaceful, almost happy. I didn't want to wake her up because she would probably scream and our cover would be blown, but I almost did just to see her smile.

I sent a message to Angel telling her Gabi was okay. She sent it to Amanda, who was crying with happiness. I had Fang attempt the lock on the cage. Amanda had given him one of her hairclips. After what seemed like an eternity, the lock clicked, and the door swung open.

Of course, it couldn't be that easy. An alarm sounded, and _everybody _woke up. Gabi saw me. "Daddy!" she squealed, but it was partially drowned out by the siren that was going off in the room. We spun around when we heard the big door to the lab swing open.

In a second, hordes of Erasers and Anne entered the room. The Flyboys were "still charging", so these were the mutant Erasers. Anne had an evil smile on her face. I grabbed Gabi and hugged her tightly. She was crying with all the noise. I tried bouncing her up and down, trying to calm her down, but it didn't work. It used to always work. What have they done to her?

"Get down here now… or Gabi will pay," Anne said. She had turned the siren off.

"Too late. We have her and there's nothing you can do," I said.

" 'Nothing I can do?' Why don't you check her ankle?" Anne said.

I lifted Gabi's pant leg up and saw a big-beeper-thing, and I knew what it was: a shocker. They were going lower and lower. This level of evil was almost inconceivable.

"Now, you understand. Get down here and we can settle this the right way."

"Iggy, come down. We… have to go with them," Amanda said, crying. "Please… I don't want them to hurt her."

I took one look at my daughter, kissing her forehead. She ran her tiny hand over my face, and I grabbed it gently and kissed the palm. "I'm sorry, my angel," I whispered.

All three of us flew down. Max was already on the floor, eyeing all the Erasers and making sure that they wouldn't try anything.

Of course, the moment we touched the floor, we were cuffed, bound, and gagged. I noticed Mr. Snap Your Neck was nowhere to be seen, so that meant that he hadn't survived the last fight. After much protest, Anne took Gabi away from me, and she put her on her hip. Gabi was screaming loudly, trying to grip away at me or Amanda, and I struggled with everything I had to get free, but I ended up crying as I saw her jolt slightly, and she was quiet. I hoped to God that they hadn't shocked her. Anne walked infront of us while the Erasers dragged us to the dungeon. On the way, though, she struck the worst conversation.

"You know, getting your daughter was easier than I thought," Anne said.

We couldn't say anything, but Amanda turned her head towards Anne in a questioning manner. I was confused, too.

Anne looked at her with the same wicked smile on her face. "What do I mean? Well, let's have the genius himself tell you."

And Ari walked out of the shadows. What's going on…?

He had another apple in his hand, and he took one bite before smiling at us, "Hey guys, long time no see." I glared at him, but the smile never withered.

Ari continued, "Max here was so busy watching you guys, she forgot about the little girl, my niece, so I decided that if she had no time to pay attention to her, then I could just spend some time with her."

It can't be. It can't be. Max had been watching her. She had her in her arms! How could he just waltz up and take her away?!

Ari smiled wickedly and turned towards Max, "Well at least you'll have less people to worry about, Maxie, since one more had been that much more of hassle for you…" and he left. There was silence. Nobody could believe it.

We were dumped in another cold chamber with just six hard mattresses and three sinks. Nobody had spoken on the way here. This silence was shock-induced.

I, however, had no trouble speaking. I hugged Amanda close to me, trying to stop her from shaking. Her hyperventilated breaths were frightening me, and I thought she would faint. I looked at Max straight in the eyes and asked, "You have no excuse to lie to us. Was all of that true?"

Tears actually falling from her eyes, she whimpered, "Yes. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to!"

Amanda was crying, too. She spoke heavily, and walked up to Max, "How could you? Why can't you trust us? How can we trust you now?" she stopped herself. We couldn't bear to watch so many tears. Nudge was trying to comfort Angel and Gazzy, only to end up in tears herself. Max was bawling, and after struggling to untie himself, Fang walked over and tried to look into her eyes.

She wouldn't look at me or even Fang. I couldn't handle even looking at her. How could she have done this?! I looked at Fang and wondered how he could still look at her with so much love, but I understood after a while that maybe he loved her more than I thought. I just continued trying to soothe Amanda. She was in so much shock, and I could tell she was debating on what she was feeling and how she would react.

Max tried composing herself to say what she wanted to, but she couldn't so she started to say it while the tears continued rolling down her cheeks.

"You have no idea how sorry I am. I… have been watching over you guys since birth, practically. I can't look away without worrying. I just… only trust myself for that job. But… that was a mistake."

"I can't believe you. You said you trusted me. That's what you said! Were you lying? Was that just a way to get me off your back? Have I always been a burden for you?" Amanda said.

"I… guess I just wanted us to be on good terms. But I mean it now more than ever…" Max said.

Amanda's eyes were full of hurt, but hate and anger filled them as well.

"Well then I can't trust you. I don't live with people I don't trust. I won't burden you anymore," she said before escaping my grasp and sitting down against the wall, staring at the adjacent wall.

Max said nothing.

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REVIEW! Sorri it took so long! I have been thinking about it so much. SORRY, but PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	15. Chapter 15

**Amanda's POV**

I couldn't believe it.

My daughter's godmother was responsible in part of what was happening to her. God only knows what they're doing to Gabi right now.

I haven't stopped crying. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get the pictures of needles and my baby crying out of my head. They won't stop, and no matter how long Iggy tries to comfort me, I can't bring myself to stop worrying. I'm the helpless mother looking for a way to save her baby.

It's so wrong. I want to want to forgive Max, but I can't. I don't see why I should. She lied to me, and then when I finally trusted her, she doesn't comply, and then she admits that she never trusted me in the first place.

It was the night of October 1st. Tomorrow my baby would turn 3, and she would be spending her birthday here, in the School. In Germany.

And I wouldn't be there.

I stole a look at the clock, turning around for the first time since I had put myself in the corner, and saw it was 3:00 in the morning. Gazzy and Angel were sleeping in Nudge's lap. I took my light sweater off and put it on top of them. I stole a look at Max and Fang, and they were of course, sleeping together. Fang brought Max closer to him, and she snuggled into his shoulder. He smiled a little, and slept. I rubbed my sleeveless arms as I sat down against the cold wall, but Iggy pulled my so my back was to his chest, and I felt warm again. His chest was hard and muscular, but welcoming. He put his arms around me, and I tried smiling, but I think it came out a grimace, and I felt a lump in my throat start again. He stroked my hair.

I turned around, and looked him in the eyes, "Iggy, we have to find her. We have to think. How are we going to get out of here?"

"Baby, I don't think we can do very much… we have to wait. They're going to let us out, and then we can attempt a break for it, but I don't know if we'll…"

"What? Live to see her again? Iggy, we have to try. If you won't, then… I'll do it myself," I couldn't look at him as I said the last part, and I wiped the tears of frustration off of my cheeks.

Iggy looked hurt. "Iggy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it… I just can't think straight right now. I'm so scared for her. All the needles and medicines and experiments… you went through it, too."

He nodded, and said, "I know. Don't worry. I promise we won't leave here without her." I nodded, and I leaned my head on his shoulder, thankful that I was tired enough to sleep. Morning came quickly, and I rubbed my eyes, just before the Eraser guards came to escort us to brunch.

Yeah, right.

I took my chances. Before they even were in the cell, I was attacking every Eraser that came. I think I took the flock, even Iggy, by surprise, because they took a while to join in, I didn't care I would be alone. I just wanted to see Gabi smile at me one more time.

I ran out of the cell, but I heard other footsteps following me. I recognized Max's combat boots, and I smiled in spite of my anger. I stopped briefly, and Iggy came up and said, "I don't think you'll have to go by yourself."

"I didn't want to have to."

"Good," Iggy kissed me a little, but in heat of the situation, we left quickly. We decided that instead of heading directly to the cage room, we would go to the control room, and disable the alarm. We looked at the blueprints in the hallway, and we followed the directions exactly. Surprisingly enough, no eraser came our way. We disabled their alarms fairly quickly, Nudge being a computer whiz. We searched again for the same room, and searched the cages. Sure enough, there my angel was, sleeping. She actually looked kind of comfortable. I took my clip out of my hair, and it clicked after about 30 seconds of attempt. I nudged her a little bit, and she woke up. I put my finger to my lips, and she understood that that meant quiet. I smiled, and carried her down to the floor.

"Impressive. Very impressive."

Anne. Damn it.

"Why the hell do you need her for? You know, it just struck me as weird," I asked, holding my baby to my shoulder, helping her stay calm.

"Ransom."

No way.

"How do I get her back?" I asked, hugging Gabi tighter.

"Have it out with Max."

She said it as if she was asking me to wipe the floors.

"I… can't do that. Is there anything else I can do? Please, I beg you…"

"No other way. Do it or you won't get her back. And you know I keep my word."

I thought really hard. I wasn't so mad at Max I would kill her. But it was her fault. I trusted her with my pride and joy, and she lost her. In less than five minutes, she ruined what was my family. Then she tells me she never trusted me from the beginning, and that made me even more pissed off.

Anger over took me, and I said, "I'll do it."

The wide-eyed stares from the flock didn't affect me at all. I just knew that very soon, I would have my baby.

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Will she do it? REVIEW!!! 


	16. The silver lining

**SO FREAKIN' SORRY! I have been deprived of my time to write. Class president plus ninth grade equals no social life. Makes me sad! Anywhos, I hope this makes up for it!**

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**Max's POV**

"_I'll do it."_

Holy sugar honey iced tea.

"Good girl. Do you want some time? We could always baby-sit until tomorrow, if you like," Anne said. Her cold voice was almost unnatural. I shivered.

"Tomorrow is fine, but I keep my baby with me. Next to me at most," Amanda smiled at her baby in her arms, and kissed the top of her head.

Anne seemed to debate the possibilities in her head, "Fine. Just… fine. Tomorrow, noon. And maybe we'll put you all in the same cell, in case you get too anxious and won't be able to wait," Anne said. I felt it was code for "KILL HER!"

Amanda nodded, and put her baby down so she could walk with her next to her. Iggy walked on the other side of Gabi, so Gabi was between both of them. The couple avoided each other's eyes.

_She won't do it. Don't worry._

I jumped as I heard the familiar voice in my head. _Angel, stop looking in my head!_

_But you look so scared. You're not like this. She _WON'T _do it!_

I sighed out loud, and she just rolled her eyes. I almost smiled at her sarcasm.

We were put in yet another cell, your usual: dark, damp, one barred window, and a cold stone floor. Gabi was taken out of Amanda's arms after much protest from Baby Gabs, but she was put in the cell across from us. We could see her through our barred door.

The Erasers left, and we were alone. Amanda was staring out the window, and I knew that she wasn't enjoying the scenery. Deep in thought, her eyes were empty, as if the brown in her eyes had faded.

Still not looking at me, she said, "Max, I don't want to kill you."

I stared at her, but she still didn't look at me. "I'm not going to kill you."

As if the whole room had been holding their breaths, there was a lot of exhaling.

Amanda continued, "I'm not mad enough to kill you, but that doesn't mean I'm not angry enough to leave."

"But…"

"No. The plan is simple: you beat the crap out of me. I 'die'. You grab Gabi and leave. Iggy is going to carry my 'lifeless body' to our home, and then I grab Gabi and we leave. I can't live with you. I don't want to say that I shouldn't have walked up to you 4 years ago in my café, but I should have made sure that you were comfortable with letting me in. It was irresponsible of us, actually for _me,_ to… have Gabi without knowing how it made you feel. I've been your guest, I've imposed, and I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."

"But we don't want you to leave. It hasn't been like that in a long time. I love you guys. I love Gabi so much…"

"But not enough to protect her. Not enough to make sure that she was safe at all times, and definitely not enough for you to trust me after all those years!" Amanda was fighting hysterics, and she was practically shaking.

"Amanda, we can't leave."

Iggy's voice shocked us all, and we all turned around. He was standing against a corner, but he quickly walked over and looked her in the eyes.

"What?" her voice softened a little bit.

"They are my family. I can't leave them. And you know how much Gabi loves Max. You know it! Can't we forgive her?"

"We?" I was confused.

"Don't think I haven't been mad at you," he said, and I looked shamefully on the ground. He continued, "Please, Mandy, let's put this behind us. Your plan will work, it's genius! And Gabi's the one that's been going through everything, and she doesn't look that mad."

Amanda looked at him, long and hard. She was thinking really hard. _I don't even want to know what she's thinking. _Angel whispered through her thoughts.

"Okay. We won't leave." She walked to the edge of the door, and put her fingers through the bars. Gabi's hand reached through the bars perfectly, and they could almost touch. "I'll see you soon, my angel," she said it loud enough for us to hear.

Soon came…. Well, soon.

It's so weird that even in this dungeon, the sky is always blue, and the sun is always out. I guess the sky is telling us to "find the silver lining": Well, sorry, honey bunch, but you're talking to a girl who flies around in the sky all the time and I'v never seen a silver lining. I saw clouds, sure, but never a silver lining.

I'm beginning to wonder if it's there at all.

We were escorted to a gym-like room, and the Erasers had all the flock escorted to a separate room. As if they really want to watch Max "kill" Amanda. Gabi was also forced to watch, no matter how hard I begged them, yes groveled on the floor, for them to put her somewhere else. I lost, obviously. As if it wasn't enough to beat up my sister.

"Rules are… well, there aren't any. Knock yourselves out, or in this case, whatever the hell you want," Anne said, in her nuts, sadistic way.

We stared at each other as menacing as we could, and we began to fight.

Of course, Amanda wouldn't let it be so obvious we were acting it out. She blocked my first roundhouse kick. She landed a blow on my chest, but it wasn't as hard as she could. I landed a good solid punch on her right cheek, and she fell back. I saw the automatic swelling, but she didn't slow. She followed with a low kick that knocked we to the ground, and she got on me and slapped me hard on my left cheek. _That'll leave a mark. _I flipped her over so she was the one below and slapped her over and over, and every time my hand made contact, the sound was like a leather belt slapping against glass. Blood began to seep out of her right eye. Her forehead was cracked severely, and she slowly losing consciousness.

"Finish me off," she whispered, with all the breath left in her. The pained look in her eyes almost stopped me, and if it wasn't for the need to rescue my goddaughter, I would've.

"For Gabi," Amanda said, swallowing hard. I couldn't tell if she was unconscious as I pulled my arm back.

And I gave her a solid 1-2 punch on the left side of her face, leaving her unconscious.

I hoped.

There was silence. Nothing but my combat boots as I moved off of Amanda, not even the flock's breathing. Gabi was crying, and I finally remembered my audience. Angel and Gazzy were too shocked, they weren't even crying. Iggy wasn't even looking anymore, and Fang looked… I don't know… sad or disappointed. One of the two.

Anne opened the doors, and she slowly walked over to Amanda's body. It was frail and limp, and I prayed that I had done just enough to _render her unconscious. _Anne knelt down next to her, and moved the hair out of her eyes.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Iggy shouted through the metal bars. Gabi screamed louder.

Anne jumped, and when she got up, I noticed tears in her eyes. She wiped them away impatiently, as if her own tears annoyed her.

"Do you want her body?" she asked slowly, and her voice was heavy.

"We do."

"And her daughter?"

"Of course."

I waited to get into stance, for the Erasers and Flyboys to come and get us, but I did it in vain.

"Then leave."

I was so stunned that I forgot to move. This couldn't be. Anne wouldn't do this.

But I didn't question it.

"Could you let the flock out?" I whispered, hoping I wouldn't send her into an angry state again.

She wordlessly pressed a button on a beeper in her belt, and the flock, plus Gabi, walked over to me.

Iggy was crying so much, I couldn't see his eyes clearly anymore. He ignored me completely, and picked up his wife and carefully rocked her back and forth. He kissed her on the lips, and hugged her to him.

"Mama. Mama!" Gabi was trying so hard to 'wake her mom' like she did in the mornings. It hurt me to see her doing it now.

Angel spoke up, "I'm not getting anything. Not from her."

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**So, REVIEW! I mean it! Please!!! Don't know what to do, and I think you know what I'm debating on (character mortem. Yes, the last word is Latin. Look it up!) TELL ME WHATCHA WANT AND THINK!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Amanda's POV**

The last thing I remember is looking as Max pushed her arm back, and I felt the first hit as I began to spin.

Spin really, really fast.

It almost hurt as much as Max hitting me, and all the colors and the voices were making it worse. I heard Max, Gabi, Iggy, Fang, the whole flock.

And the spinning stopped, and it was black. Pitch black.

I looked around, trying desperately to find some way out of this place. Where in the world was I?

**You're not even in the world.**

I looked around frantically, but I honestly had no idea where to look. The voice came from inside my head.

**You won't find me. Just listen.**

I tried to scream, but nothing came out. My voice was gone, but I could still hear and see. I couldn't find the voice.

**Wonderful. Now that you've stopped, I can show you… well, you.**

I tried thinking: _Well, go ahead. First of all, WHERE AM I?_

There's no need to scream. You are your soul right now. Trying looking at your hands.

I did as I was told, and I looked at how translucent I was. I could see the black through the faded tan hand. I gasped, because that's all the sound I would get out of my mouth.

Let's go and see you now. Are you ready? You may not like what you see, and nobody will see you or hear you… 

_Let's go._

Without warning, I propelled forward, as if I was on one of those airport moving walkways. The wind blew in my eyes, but they didn't water. We landed in front of the hospital… in Germany.

We were approaching the doors quickly, and we didn't slow down as we got closer. We were going to crash!

I covered my head with my arms, and braced for impact. I waited, but all I got was a gust of wind, and then I smelled the alcohol. Weird, I could smell things.

There were doctors and sick people sitting in the waiting room, and I was lost. What was I doing here?

Then the obvious hit me.

I continued on and on, passing into the E.R. And I saw a room. A fairly large room, and I felt another gust of wind as I went through the door.

And there I was.

I was hooked up to every possible machine. I had tubes coming out of my throat, my nose, my waist. I didn't even look human. Iggy was sitting right next to me, Gabi sitting down on his lap. She was asleep, Thank God. I didn't want her to see me like this.

_How long has it been?_

**It's been three days.**

_It doesn't feel that long ago. What's wrong with me?_

**Max put you in a coma. She hit you too hard.**

_What's happening to me? What happened?_

**You had some internal bleeding. Max broke your cheekbone, three ribs, and gave you a pretty bad concussion. You almost died. If Iggy wasn't so quick, you would've. They had to restart your heart three times.**

_Will I… wake up?_

There was silence, and I continued to look at Iggy. He wouldn't take his eyes off me. I don't know why. I wasn't anything like I normally was. I didn't even have color in my face. I was the color of the sheets.

**Do you forgive Max? **

The voice surprised me, and the tears immediately began to flow down my cheeks. I had been angry at her, through the whole fight. It took all my strength to let her win. I couldn't believe it. I was actually able to feel forgiveness towards her. I searched and searched for the anger I had been feeling for so long, but I didn't find it.

_Yes. I forgive her._

I heard the voice chuckle. **Good. Would you like to wake up now?**

_Of course._

**Before you go: Do you know who I am? **

_You don't sound so familiar… _

**It's Jeb, sweetie. I love you so much. I'm so proud of you. Tell Gabi I'll always love her. Bye.**

_Daddy!_

And I was spinning again. Wonderful. The same voices, screaming my name, and I heard a soft beep. It got louder and louder, and soon it was right next to my ear. The colors had stopped, like before, but this time, I couldn't open my eyes. I heard Iggy playing with Gabi, and I wanted to say, "Hey! I'm alive! Hello?" but nothing came out of my mouth. I tried moving my lips, but I hit something plastic. My mouth wouldn't close completely. Must be the tubes. I felt a sharp pain in my chest. And that must be my sore ribs.

I tried the verbal commands from my brain, _Eyes… open! _It didn't work, obviously. I tried several times, until finally, I was staring at the white ceiling. I turned my head slowly, and even then I was dizzy, but Iggy saw me.

"Baby?"

I couldn't do much, and he knew it. He rushed over to me, kissing my forehead. "You're okay! Oh thank God!" he was sobbing, and I wanted him to be happy, but again, all my limited abilities and me let me do was just… sit there.

I noticed that Gabi was just standing there, next to Iggy, probably trying to figure out why her dad was crying, but she was quiet. Iggy noticed my gaze and brought Gabi up to me. I touched her cheek. I probably looked like an alien. She didn't do anything, though. She smiled at me. "Mommy!" she squealed. I smiled. I looked at Iggy and touched his cheek, too, knowing he wanted it. His tears soaked my hand, and he kissed them away. He put Gabi in the chair, and spoke. He took my hand in his, closing his eyes for a second before staring deeply into mine. His blue eyes were so beautiful.

"Tap once if the answer is yes, tap twice if the answer is no. Okay?" He stroked the back of my hand softly.

I tapped once. He grinned.

"Are you in pain?"

A little dizzy, but I didn't feel like I was dying. But then there was another sharp pang in my ribs. I winced, and motioned to my left set of ribs, tapped once.

Iggy was concerned."We'll get them to up the morphine on it. The next question is only for the benefit of our family. Do you forgive Max? Be honest," Iggy said it tentatively, knowing that if I had no tubes in my mouth, I would probably cut him off.

I smiled. I tapped him twice. And he smiled back, bigger than before.

"And the final question… do you forgive _me_?"

I creased my eyebrows, confused. Why would I be mad at him?

"Well, it's just… I told you to fight, and look at you now. I should've told Max to go easy on you. I should've told you that fighting was a good idea, and now you've almost died. And then Angel couldn't get any thoughts from you. You scared us all so much, I almost died, too. The pain it was causing me, to see you lifeless on the table… I couldn't sleep, because that's all I would think about. How can you not be mad at me?" Iggy was pushing back tears again, and he wouldn't look at me.

I tried to stay strong for him, because I wanted him to understand. A small tear betrayed me anyway, and I swallowed hard to block the rest off. I tapped once, referring to the first question.

Before Iggy could respond, a knock came on the door. We both turned, and in came Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, Fang, and Max. They were all smiling big, knowing I was awake, probably because of Angel. I nodded, and smiled. Hey, that's all I've been able to do until now!

A nurse followed them inside. She had a strong German accent.

"Wouldn ju like me to take jur tubes out?"

I tapped Iggy's hand once, and he understood automatically. "Go ahead."

It was very interesting process. First, the tube on my waist. That didn't hurt. They put a slip of gauze over the incision. The tube on my nose… let's not go there. The one that fed me and helped me breathe… those didn't hurt like the nose one, but they did hurt. I felt a hard thrust, and then I couldn't breathe. I coughed and coughed, and they finally put a breathing mask over my nose and mouth.

"Inhale slowly. Thatta girl," Iggy was comforting me, and I liked it a lot. Even after the tubes were out, I couldn't speak that much. I could whisper, but Iggy wouldn't let me. We stuck to nodding.

I hadn't talked to Max. She was never in the room long enough for me to talk to her by herself. Finally, Iggy pulled her in, and just left. I knew what he wanted me to do. I had been drinking plenty of water, and my throat was slightly better. My voice was hoarse, and my throat hurt, but I could speak.

Max just stood next to the door, awkwardly. She didn't say anything, so I started the conversation.

"Max, how about we'll stick to being friends, huh?"

She just stared at me, a half-smile on her face, "I promise I'll make it up to you, Amanda."

I laughed. "I have an idea… you can go and find me some ice cream, and we'll call it even?"

She laughed too. She worked up the courage to come over and hug me, too. It was good to have my sister back. "No problem."

"Good." Iggy burst through the door, along with Fang, Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, the nurse, the doctor, and the woman that was going to put me in a wheel chair so I could go home. They were are all smiling.

"I guess you guys are friends again?" Angel said it suggestively.

"As if you don't know," I said sarcastically.

We laughed, and soon, I was packed and ready to get on a plane, (yes, a plane) to head back to France with my baby and my hubby in my arms.

* * *

So... REVIEW! I think the next chapter will be the last one! Thanx for all the revs! Kept me motivated!


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